Season of Giving
by laurzz
Summary: DannyLindsay. Season 2 Christmas oneshot. "Danny, this is the t-shirt I told you about." She whispered quietly. "The one that I said I'd always wanted." "Yeah." He nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I hope it fits ya, Montana. Merry Christmas."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi guys. First of all, I hope you're all enjoying the festive season! I'm definitely enjoying the abundance of Christmas specials and the time to relax and not feel guilty for not doing mountains of university work! This is a little something I've been working on for the past few days. Megan mentioned to me a while back that I should write some season 2... and when CK said to me that I should write something Christmassy, a lightbulb went off and I thought, why not combine the two! And then when webdlfan suggested I did a little backstory writing behind the Whitesnake t-shirt Lindsay was sporting in season 6 it all came together. Yes, most confusing A/N in the history of A/N but basically all you need to know is this is season 2 Christmassy themed, with an acknowledgement to 6x2. (oh god, I hope it was 6x2 now...) **

**I really hope you guys like what I've come up with. Massive thank yous to everyone who has reviewed my two latest stories. Your reviews were delights to read. I always love seeing your messages. **

**And I will stop rambling now... on with the show!**

* * *

><p>"Alright now, settle down guys, we've got a lot to get through."<p>

Sighing heavily, Danny stretched and released some of the tension in his back. Today had been a massive pain in the ass. He'd slept through his alarm, and had therefore had to bypass a shower and coffee; having barely enough time to get dressed before he'd run out of the door for work. Then, the subway had been overcrowded and he hadn't been able to get on the train he'd needed... Then, as soon as he'd got to work, he'd been cornered by Mac, handing him his kit and telling him to find Lindsay; they were heading back to Danny's neighbourhood to process a bodega robbery. Then, if that hadn't been enough, Cindy hadn't stopped calling him. Literally. He'd had to turn his phone from loud, to vibrate, to silent because he'd had enough of listening to the damn Coldplay song that he'd assigned for her... not to mention he'd had to endure a whole lot of sceptical looks from Montana at their crime scene every time he flinched from the vibrations.

He'd tried explaining it to Cindy that when he was at work, he couldn't talk to her. He'd explained, or _tried_ to explain it, politely but right now, he was beginning to find that his patience for the woman was waning. Sure she was nice, she was easy on the eyes and they could have a good time together. But for some reason, the things that used to tick all of his boxes were falling just a little bit short, and he couldn't quite find the reasons why.

"Earth to Messer," Lindsay Monroe whispered quietly, nudging Danny from his day-dream. "You might want to pay attention." She smirked before casting her eyes back to their boss.

_Montana._ Danny exhaled heavily. She was another pain in his ass; yet there was just something about her that he found endearing. She wasn't your typical girl next door, like people assumed. No. Danny knew for a fact that sat in her pocket was a little buck knife that she could do serious damage with. He knew that she'd excelled in tennis, skiing and a few other sports that she'd mentioned briefly. She used to be a cheerleader, but had quit as she went into her senior year. He knew that she'd graduated high school with honours, and had got a first class degree from Montana State University. She was extremely close to her Dad growing up, and struggled with her Mom from time to time. She had brothers - one of which named Brad. He wasn't entirely sure how many brothers she did have... but he knew for definite there was more than one. Her family was an established part of the community back home in Big Sky Country, and before she'd left for New York; she'd helped with a support group that was linked with her old high school.

He knew all of that about Lindsay, yet, he wouldn't be able to recall Cindy's address without some serious thinking.

Something, he thought, wasn't quite right there. Obviously, he'd know more about Lindsay, being her partner. It was inevitable that little tidbits about their lives were shared from day-to-day... but, surely he shouldn't have taken such an interest in getting to know Lindsay Monroe from Montana. His brow furrowed as a realisation hit him. Did he have a crush on-... _no way! _ He chastised himself before his thought process got any further. That was a messy path that he just couldn't travel down.

"Danny? Are we interrupting something important there?" Stella's teasing voice now broke his thoughts. "You seem pretty lost there."

"No, I'm good. Just processin'; it's been a long day."

"I know," Mac agreed, "We're nearly done now, so if you could hang on for just another half an hour, I'd appreciate it."

"Sorry boss," Danny cringed. "Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Don't say I didn't try to save your ass," Lindsay whispered in his ear, her breath sending chills down his spine.

Danny bit his lip as he focused his concentration on the new protocols that were being enforced over the Christmas period, and what they'd therefore have to follow after they got back in January; not that he got much of a Christmas break. And despite trying to focus, he realised that he'd been so far gone in his thought process that there was no way he'd be able to turn it around without having Mac repeat everything.

"What's he talkin' about?" Danny muttered in Lindsay's ear. "Help me out, Montana."

"You should have been listening as opposed to dreaming about God only knows what," she scoffed quietly as Mac turned to fuss with the presentation he'd been made to use with his briefing. "And you shouldn't have made fun of me taking notes earlier."

"Can I borrow them?" Danny asked tentatively, knowing fine well what the answer was.

"My notes? Absolutely not," she smirked. "This isn't Calculus, Danny; find another nerd to copy notes from."

"Montana, come on."

"Danny, Lindsay... if you don't mind..." Mac cut in, his frustration growing more evident with their conversation. "I know that this is the last place you want to be right now, but I'm nearly done and then you can head home and begin celebrating the holidays, but until then..."

"Sorry Mac," Lindsay blushed. "Carry on, my lips are sealed." She apologised before shooting a venomous scowl at her partner. "Jerk."

Fighting the smirk on his face, Danny sat back and began making pointless notes that he knew he'd never look over or understand if he ever was to read back over them. It pissed him off, knowing that Lindsay's annotations would be so much more sophisticated and legible. He cast his eyes down to her page and marvelled at how her penmanship flowed effortlessly; before turning back to his own writing and blinking as he tried to make sense of the chicken scratch. Mac's onslaught of words went well above Danny's head; something about... something? If he made it worth it, Lindsay would talk it over with him before Mac realised he'd not absorbed a word.

"Alright, well, we'll leave it there for now." Mac sighed. "Danny, you can stop pretending that you're writing notes, and Hawkes, if you could wake Adam up there; we can share gifts and then those of you lucky people that get to leave can leave."

Danny's heart began to race. A part of him had known the reason behind his inability to concentrate; figuring that the gift exchange that was about to take place was a huge part of his mind being elsewhere. He'd taken a massive risk with this one. He just hoped that she liked it.

He'd been brewing the idea since their 'non date' a couple of months ago. After they'd spent the night watching Mac at Cozy's; they had begun to make it a weekly venture – going out and doing something outside of the workplace. They labelled it as a partnership-strengthening exercise when Flack had teased them about it. Lindsay had claimed that if she was expected to put her life in Danny's hands, she needed to know who it was she was trusting, and Flack had nothing more to comment. Who could have argued with that reasoning, after all?

Danny remembered their conversations surrounding that night with a vividness that he'd rarely experienced with anyone else before.

* * *

><p>"<em>What are you doing tonight?"<em>

_Glancing up from the case of glass shards he had to reassemble, Danny snorted amusedly. "I'll let you take three guesses," he said before gesturing to the evidence. "Why? You askin' me out on a date, Montana? 'Cause I gotta say, I think I'm gonna need a little more persuading than that."_

"_What if I offer to help with your evidence in exchange for you comin' out with me tonight; ignoring the date comment of course, jackass." She smirked. "I've got tickets to a Whitesnake concert."_

"_What?" Danny blinked, his jaw almost hitting the layout table he was currently seated at. "Seriously? You do?"_

_Smirking, Lindsay cleared her throat. "Sorry, did I say Whitesnake concert, I meant tribute band. Wanna come?" She asked, her eyes glistening with excitement. _

"_Whitesnake?" He implored. "That's funny, I didn't picture you as a fan of Whitesnake... had you more of an opera girl, Montana."_

"_That's real funny." She scowled at him. "It was one time, and the tickets were free. If you could let that go, it'd be greatly appreciated." _

"_Well until you come dressed up like that to work again, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to hold onto that image, Montana. Sorry."_

"_Ugh, pervert. You coming?" she smirked, changing the direction of their conversation._

"_I'm coming." He smiled._

_She smiled brightly. "Awesome, pick me up at six. We can go for food." She began to turn on her heel before pausing and taking a look at his evidence that lay before him. "You ought to get a wiggle on with that as well, Danny." She said as she looked at her watch. "You've got about four hours... no pressure. See you later, Messer." _

"_Hey, whoa!" Danny reached out and grabbed her retreating arm. "I thought you promised you'd help me if I said I'd come?"_

"_Well, what do you know... I lied." She smirked. "Have fun, Messer." _

_Sighing, Danny glanced down to his evidence and decided that before he cracked on with the daunting task of reassembling a shop-front window in order to get one measly fingerprint, he needed to make a call. Dialling a number that had become part of his memory, he held his phone to his ear and prepared himself for the conversation he was about to have. _

"_Hey Cindy," he began, "It's me... look, about tonight, I don't think I'm going to be able to make dinner, hun; I've caught this huge case and I can't see me getting away any time soon."_

* * *

><p>"<em>All I'm saying is that if you got lost in Montana, you'd never see the light of day again. That's all; you don't have to take it so personally Danny. It's not against you. Some people can handle it, some people can't..."<em>

"_You know, Montana," Danny sighed as he reached over the table for the Mustard, "I didn't have to come tonight. I've got better things to be doing. All of this teasin' is gettin' a little old."_

"_Oh yeah? I don't believe that for a second." she snorted, her burger midair as she raised it to her lips. "What on earth would you be doing if you weren't here? Catching up on missed episodes of Letterman? Woo!" she teased playfully. "Don't worry; they'll still be there when you get home."_

"_Uh, I'd be seein' my girlfriend actually, smartass." He reminded her with raised eyebrows. "I see more of you than I do her sometimes."_

_Lindsay studied his expression and comment carefully before she responded. His expression was easy to read; he was joking. But there was some weight to his comment that she couldn't quite shake. "Is that a bad thing?"_

"_No." He shook his head. "Which probably means it's a bad thing, right?"_

_She shrugged. "I mean, we're partners in a high demanding job. Sometimes it can't be helped."_

"_But then we go out of our way to spend our night off together?" Danny raised his eyebrows. "You know, some people might begin to wonder, Montana."_

"_What?" she snorted. "About you and me? Let them wonder. If they've got nothing more to do in their sad lives, more power to them." _

"_Yeah, I mean it's not as if anything would ever happen between us, right?" Danny laughed. _

"_Exactly, nothing would ever happen," she quickly reiterated. "I mean come on; could you imagine trying to function at work? For a start, Flack would never leave us alone... and second of all, you're my partner. It'd be way too weird. And spending all day with you in work, and then going home with you? I'd have to kill you." _

"_Yeah, it'd be overkill... seein' ya that much if you were my girlfriend." Danny nodded in agreement, but made a mental note of the slight tint of pink that had blushed Lindsay's cheeks, while she assured him that nothing would ever happen between the two of them. Although he'd nodded in agreement, he couldn't help the feeling of disappointment that had spread within him as she quickly vetoed any suggestion of them two being more than just friends. Even though he didn't feel that way about her, he wasn't going to go as far to suggest that nothing would ever happen between the two of them. Such as, for example, if they carried on their weekly 'non-date' date night; he wouldn't be surprised if something started developing between them. __And if he was silently honest with himself, seeing Lindsay that much would be anything but overkill... Brushing that to the side, Danny cleared his throat and searched for another conversation topic. "So then, you and Whitesnake, huh? I didn't realise you were such a big fan. Going to see a tribute band is pretty dorky, Montana."_

"_Yeah well, who's the dork coming with me?" She retaliated. "It's not dorky... I just, I loved them growing up; that's all." _

"_Oh yeah?" he smirked. "What was the appeal?"_

"_The music, obviously." She implored. _

"_Not their accent then, no?"_

"_What?" she squeaked, her voice at a pitch higher than Danny had heard it before. "What?" She then repeated. "No, no, nothing about their accent, thank you." _

"_Sure thing." Danny nodded with a smirk. "So, the appeal?" _

"_I just... it's something I shared with my brother." She shrugged. "it's funny, we went to their US tour when I was about sixteen, and I'd gone the whole night wanting to get this Whitesnake t-shirt that I'd seen pictures of. I was borderline obsessed with this thing. It was pink and had their original logo on it, and I just loved it. I envisioned wearing it to school on the Monday and everything."_

"_What happened? Did you not get it or something?"_

_She shook her head. "I lost my bag in the crowd somewhere. Brad, my brother was a little less sympathetic than my emotional sixteen year old self had expected him to be, and my wallet was in my bag. He didn't have enough money for a t-shirt for himself, let alone me too... so, I guess it was my own fault really. I just, I was absolutely devastated. I'd set my heart on it and everything but... I guess it was just one of those things that weren't meant to be." _

"_Have you tried an online merchandise store?" Danny asked. "You never know, they might have the vintage designs on there."_

_She shook her head. "I've tried; it's all different designs now."_

_Danny offered her a sad face in response and shrugged. "Well, we'll have a look tonight; you never know... you might get lucky." He winked playfully._

* * *

><p>They hadn't gotten lucky with the t-shirt that night; but from what Danny could recall, the tribute band had been pretty awesome. He had, however found himself on many occasions wrapping his arms around Lindsay as she stood in front of him, to protect her from the overly drunken concert-goers around them. He'd been a little wary to begin with; offering up a hugely affectionate gesture in a confined space, but when she'd settled into his embrace, he'd decided against questioning his actions.<p>

It was only in the time after the concert that he felt guilty about his obvious betrayal to Cindy... but they weren't going anywhere; not that it was a justification... but Lindsay was just, different. She was Lindsay. It wasn't like that. She'd said that herself. Except, Danny had realised that he _did_ have feelings for Lindsay Monroe; feelings that he wasn't quite sure what to do with.

After that night, he'd made a mental note to look into finding her the shirt she'd described to him. He'd sneakily noted it down on his cell-phone and googled it when he'd gotten home. Instantly a male, grey version popped up, and he just had a feeling that it was the same design that Lindsay had wanted... but it wasn't pink.

He'd eventually managed to find the pink shirt; from the same tour that Lindsay had gone to when she was sixteen on eBay; while it wasn't the best, it was definitely more luck than he'd had with it for the month he'd been searching for the damn t-shirt. In wanting that t-shirt however, he'd successfully got himself into the middle of a bidding war with some eager fan, he could only assume, and had fought to the death for the thing. What had began with a bidding price of twelve dollars had quickly escalated to sixty five, plus shipping. And while it hurt Danny to part with such money for a t-shirt, he'd taken pride in his victory, knowing that the look on Lindsay's face would be priceless, and would make his efforts and bidding more than worth it.

Except, his plan had fallen to pieces when Mac announced they were going to try a 'Secret Santa' this Christmas with a limit of ten dollars... His heart had sunk when he realised his efforts were about to go down the toilet. He crossed his fingers in hopes of picking Lindsay out of the test beaker they'd placed all of their names into, and he felt his heart drop when he opened up the piece of paper, revealing Mac's name. He'd eagerly watched the table's reactions to their own Secret Santa's; trying to assess who had Lindsay, and as soon as Sid had picked his, Danny had known. Sid's eyes went straight to Lindsay and a small smile had spread across his lips. It had taken a lot of persuading on his part, but eventually Sid had traded Danny for Mac, and he'd been able to breathe a sigh of relief; his plotting and planning for her present had not gone to waste. If he overlooked the ten dollar limit, of course.

"Alright, presents at the ready..." Stella excitedly pulled her present from her bag, bringing Danny out of his thoughts. "And, trade!"

They all stood collectively and sought out their recipient. Danny watched carefully as Lindsay headed over to Flack and handed him his immaculately wrapped gift and she accepted his grateful hug, before he tore the Christmas wrapping and broke out in a massive grin.

"You're a smartass, Monroe." Danny heard him say as he revealed his shirt and tie gift set. "It's great though; thanks Linds." He thanked her again as he pulled her into another hug.

Deciding that it was his time to share his gift with her, Danny rounded the chairs and cleared his throat. "Mon-"

"Oh Danny, hey, here you go... Merry Christmas, pal."

Turning abruptly, Danny's eyes met a wary Adam Ross who offered him his wrapped present. "Aw thanks, buddy. You kept that quiet, I had no idea you had me."

Adam smiled and gestured to the present excitedly, "I think you're gonna like it." He said before stepping back, giving Danny the space to open his present. He set Lindsay's gift onto the table carefully before turning his attention to the messily wrapped gift. He tore the paper quickly, desperate to make sure he gave his present to Lindsay's before everyone else received their presents; thus attracting all of the attention onto himself and Lindsay.

Danny discarded the paper and cast his eyes down to the frame that he held in his hand. In it was a signed team photograph from the Yankees.

"Dude, are you serious?" Danny implored. "For real?"

"Yeah..." Adam grinned; obviously extremely proud of his efforts. "I know a guy who knows a guy and well... I knew that I had to try when I picked your name out. It paid off apparently."

"Dude, I can't even – thank you buddy. This is amazing. Seriously."

"Aw, I'm glad you like it." Adam grinned. "Now I'll uh- I'll let you get back to Lindsay."

Danny looked away from his frame and turned slightly and his eyes fell on a smiling Lindsay, who had apparently watched the exchange between himself and Adam. "Looks like somebody's a happy boy." She commented playfully.

"Oh yeah," he nodded adamantly before placing the frame down carefully on the conference table and in exchange, he picked up Lindsay's small present. "Now, it doesn't look like much, but I hope you like it."

Lindsay smiled as she accepted the gift and proceeded to rip the wrapping paper and unfolded the t-shirt. She soaked in the image silently for a few seconds before turning her head to face Danny; who was stood waiting eagerly for a response.

"Danny, this is the t-shirt I told you about." She whispered quietly. "The one that I said I'd always wanted."

"Yeah." He nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I hope it fits ya, Montana. Merry Christmas."

She blinked as she held it up against herself and nodded softly in confirmation. "Looks like it's going to be a perfect fit," she said, before turning the t-shirt around and examining it properly. It definitely wasn't a t-shirt made by some of the many vendors that could be found on the streets of New York. Nope, there was no doubt in Lindsay's mind that Danny had searched high and low for her Christmas present. And she was positive that it must have taken him longer than the week they'd been allocated for present purchasing. In short, Danny Messer had spoilt her rotten. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, cursing herself for showing such emotion, but she just couldn't help it. "Danny, I don't know what to-"

"Look at Monroe crying over a t-shirt." Flack jested from his position across the conference room. "It's alright, kiddo... we'll make sure Danno doesn't get you next year. What's it got on the front? A little Moo cow from Montana?"

"It's... it's a-" she met Danny's eyes and there was something in them that told her to think carefully about the answer she gave; especially considering their audience, their surroundings and the rumours that would inevitably circulate as a result. "It's just a little something we've talked about in the past."

Danny smirked, _atta girl, Montana! _He thought inwardly. _Don't give the jackass ammunition._

"Wow Danny, you really pushed the boat out there." Flack smirked. "Goin' sentimental on our asses; I think that's a first."

Danny's pride in Lindsay not giving Flack ammunition quickly faltered and he could feel the defensive stance rising up within him. "Alright tell you what, next time I'll get her some crap that she shoves to the back of a drawer and throws out the next time she has a massive spring clean. Sound good?" He snapped. "It's great that you all have opinions on this; how about you get back to your own presents, huh?"

Lindsay completely disregarded the tension in the room and instead soaked in the image of her t-shirt. She wasn't quite sure what to say... How on earth did she thank him for such a gesture? It just... astounded her. She'd been working with him for six months at the very most, and he'd gone to this much effort for her? She knew for a fact that they had the closest friendship bar Mac and Stella... but did that qualify her for such a thoughtful present? The fact that he'd listened to what she'd said, and held onto that with both hands warmed her heart.

She glanced up from her t-shirt and found that he'd already left the conference room; most probably as a result from something Flack had said. Her eyes quickly darted out into the hallway, and she could see him by the stairs, leading to the locker room.

"Excuse me for a..." her voice trailed off as she realised that everyone else was equally absorbed by their own presents and conversations. She slipped out of the room carefully, and jogged down the hallway after him.

Catching up with him at his opened locker, Lindsay laid a hand on Danny's shoulder; alerting him of her presence. "Danny..." she began, "I'm sorry about the stick they gave you over this, I just - I, I don't know what to say."

"Thank you?" he offered with a smile. "I hope you like it... I know it's probably not what you had in mind, but... I figured it was something close to what you wanted."

"Danny, it's perfect!" She implored. "I can't believe you did this."

He simply smiled and shrugged in response. "It might be a few years late, but maybe you could wear it on the next dress down day at work, huh? It'd be kinda like wearing it to school."

She giggled and nodded. "I just can't even imagine the lengths you must have had to go to, to get it. You have no idea how much I love you for this!"

He glossed over her admission of love; figuring it was simply platonic. "I just... look, it's the least I could do. For all that you've done for me – call it evens for putting up with me this past year."

Lindsay smiled shyly. "It's barely been six months, actually."

Danny let out a low whistle. "Is that all it's been? Damn. Time flies when you've got a pain in the ass."

Lindsay giggled, before shaking her head again. "This is still too much, Danny."

"Will you knock it off, Montana? It really isn't," he insisted. "After the concert, I couldn't not get this for ya; I saw how much it meant to you, and when I got you for Secret Santa, I figured it was a perfect opportunity. I hope it fits and I hope you like it... Let's leave it there, okay?"

"Danny, this is just... it's... thank you." She paused for a second as a small smile tugged at her lips. "You know, it's funny... Sid came up to me about a week ago and asked me what I wanted for Christmas if he 'hypothetically' got me as his recipient for Secret Santa... and then an hour later, he tells me never mind. Know anything about that by any chance?"

"Don't know what you're talkin' about, Montana." Danny scoffed at her suggestion, that was, unsurprisingly, a little close to home for him and his plotting.

She sighed; Danny's defence telling her all she needed to know. Instead of pushing him, she smiled. "You really shouldn't have gone to such efforts for me, but thank you." She then stood on her tiptoes, placed a hand on his torso to steady herself and placed a kiss to his cheek. The kiss however, lingered much longer than a 'thank you' kiss would normally. When her lips left his skin, he could still feel their warmth and felt himself naturally leaning towards her, searching for her lips.

"I bet Cindy's holding this against you." Lindsay smirked. "I can't see her taking lightly to you putting so much effort into my present."

"Nah," he shook his head. "She doesn't give a crap... and we've kind of cooled off anyway. Things are just... not there anymore. She's a little too clingy."

"Have you told her this?" Lindsay raised her eyebrows and folded her arms across her chest; her t-shirt slung over her arm protectively. "'Cause based on today's phone calls alone, I'm pretty sure she missed that message."

"Uh, no-"

"Danny!" Lindsay chastised, whipping him with her t-shirt. "You can't go round telling people you've cooled off if she's got no clue."

"She's smart enough," Danny shrugged. "She'll figure it out."

Lindsay cocked her head to the side and stared pointedly at him. "You're a dumbass sometimes."

"Dumbass?" he smirked. "That's the best you've got? What? You're all of a sudden too cute to curse..."

"I'm not cute, Messer. I'm just professional and don't have a potty mouth, unlike _some_."

"Get a beer down you and you're singing a different tune, Montana."

"Well regardless of my ability to curse, you need to tell her how you feel, Danny." Lindsay instructed him. "It's not fair otherwise. I'm sure there are plenty of other men that would willingly snap her up and you're preventing that." He could see a teasing glint in her eyes.

Danny snorted rather attractively. "Yeah, sure thing, Montana."

"Well, if not... I'm sure there are plenty of women waiting in a line somewhere for you to be single, Danny."

"Meh," he shrugged noncommittally. "I don't know whether I'm gonna get myself into another one of these things with just anyone."

"Just anyone?" Lindsay nudged him playfully, "Got a story to tell, Messer? Someone caught your eye?"

"Ahh, Linds... let's not go there. I'm pretty sure you've got enough ammunition to make me a laughing stock around this place. I don't think it's wise me goin' into my love life too. Got an reputation to keep, ya'know?"

"A reputation? Danny, you're joking, right?" Lindsay snorted. "I think you forget that I've seen you asleep; my couch cushions still have that drool patch. You have very little reputation, trust me."

"You know what; give me that t-shirt..." he smirked. "I'll go give it to some homeless guy so he can give it to his homeless girlfriend... they deserve it more than you do – you're pain in my ass."

Lindsay giggled and pulled Danny into a hug, pressing another one of her kisses to his cheek. "You know I'm only joking," she said softly against his cheek. "I love my present Danny, thank you. I really, genuinely appreciate the thought you've put into it..."

"You're welcome, kiddo." He smiled brightly; her thanks filling him with a strange sense of pride and achievement. "Just don't get too attached to extravagant and thoughtful presents; for your birthday you're getting a pizza, beer and a movie and that's it... so prepare yourself now."

She wiggled her eyebrows and licked her lips, "Correct me if I'm wrong, Messer, but that to me sounds like a _date._"

"A date?" he scoffed. "Please; why the hell would I ask _you_ on a date? You're Montana. I couldn't ask you on a date. We've been over this, it'd be weird."

"Would it?" she countered, seriously.

"Well..." he paused. "I..."

"Just kidding," she interjected quickly when she realised that the conversation was taking a turn from being playful into territory that neither of them were ready to step into; despite their obvious affections for one another. "You're with Cindy; you can't be setting dates up anyway."

"Yeah," he nodded, inwardly beating himself for his dumbass comment. "So, you're off now, right?"

"Me? Yep. For a whole two days," she waved her fist in the air, assuming mock enthusiasm. "Woo!"

Chuckling, Danny grabbed his back and signed Yankees photo and closed his locker. "Me too, you fancy a beer?"

"Only if you're buying," she grinned up at him as he wrapped an arm around her slender shoulders.

"Me? Buying? I'm on the breadline until next payday 'cause of you, Montana... surely you can get your poor old partner a beer, right?"

"We'll see." She glanced up at him, her curls framing her face perfectly. "Turn around while I change." She instructed, to which he conformed instantly. "Oh, I meant to ask you..." she said as she tugged her blouse over her head and swapped it for her new t-shirt. "What are you doing for Christmas?"

"Um, well... If I don't get called into work, I'll be goin'-" He unconsciously trailed off, as he sneakily turned to see her status of getting changed. When he realised she was decent, he turned and leant against his locker. "Aw, it fits good! Little big on ya, but you can grow into it," he teased. "It's cute though, suits ya."

She smiled brightly before raising her eyebrows.

"What?" he laughed at her expectant face. "How many more compliments do you want?"

"... You were talking about what your plans were for Christmas?" She reminded him.

"Oh! I'm goin' to my parents'." He finished. "We usually have this big get-together every year. My Ma'll be goin' all out with Louie being around this year. I know she's really looking forward to havin' us both round for the Holidays. I just hope he keeps his nose clean 'til then, ya know? Two days... it'll be hard but I'm sure he can do it." he said, revealing a little more than either of them expected him to. "What are you gonna be doin' Montana?"

"Sleeping," she smiled. "And making my way through a whole bunch of Turkey and Stuffing sandwiches while watching _It's a wonderful Life _on a loop." She smiled. "As you can tell, I'm very excited about it." Her grin supporting her statement.

"You're gonna be by yourself?"

"Uh, yeah." She nodded, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I thought about going home, but for the amount of time I'd be home for, I'd spend more time unpacking and packing than I would actually being there so... maybe next year."

Leaning against his locker, facing Lindsay, Danny shook his head. "You can come to mine with me if you want... my Ma cooks enough to feed the entire neighbourhood, and she definitely wouldn't mind."

"Oh God, Danny no... I wasn't hinting."

"I know," he nodded, holding out a hand and stopping her wild hand gestures. "I'm invitin' ya though. Wanna come spend Christmas with the crazy Messer's?"

"What about Cindy?"

"You got an obsession with her, Montana." Danny smirked. "Look, we're friends, right? Cindy can go and take a running jump for all I care after the way she's acted today. I'm not leavin' ya by yourself on Christmas, Montana." He smiled. "Maybe you'll get lucky and meet Cindy... if I don't kill her beforehand."

"We're still technically on the clock, Messer." Lindsay smirked. "I'm going to have to warn you now that anything you say to me may be used against you in a court of law."

"Oh ha-ha; aren't you hilarious!" he implored as he pulled her into his arms and ruffled her hair. "Hurry up; you owe me a beer... get your skates on, Montana."

"I suppose I have no choice now, do I?" she sighed. "First you go and get me a really thoughtful present, and now here you go again, makin' me think you're nice by inviting me 'round for Christmas lunch... I dread to think what's coming next."

"I'll be proposing marriage..." he smirked. "Just to really freak you out."

"I'll say no." She countered with a playful glint in her eyes.

"I'd make it worth your while," he informed her.

"I'm pretty sure you're supposed to have a good few drinks down you before you start offering marriage proposals, Messer... hold off for a little while, k?"

Rolling his eyes, Danny followed his partner as they left the locker room together. He marvelled at the way the Whitesnake t-shirt fit her. Although it in places it hung from her tiny frame; he figured that she'd wear it to death regardless. The fact that she'd changed into it sent a surge of pride shooting around his veins.

He watched as she pressed the elevator button, and rolled back on her heels. "Are you sure about Christmas day, Danny?" she questioned him. "Your Mom definitely won't mind?"

"Nah," he shook his head. "She wants to meet you anyway... she wants to meet the whole team." He quickly added.

She nodded knowingly; expecting that her ears probably should have been burning at various points since she joined the team in New York. "Obviously." She nodded. "As long as you're positive it'd be okay."

"It'll be fine..." he smiled. "And if not, well, we'll smuggle you in. You're small enough. She'll never know."

"Funny," she shot him a playful look as their elevator arrived. They quickly jumped on and made room for the other five or six people wanting to head down to other floors and departments.

Danny leant his head against the cool metal of the shell of the elevator and let out a contented sigh as he listened to the sounds of Chris Rea's _Driving Home for Christmas _in the elevator. He felt Lindsay brush his arm with her's as she struggled to put her jacket on and he took the garment from her and held it up, helping her into the jacket almost effortlessly. She glanced up at him, a tint of pink flushing her cheeks once again and he simply offered her a smile in return.

After the events of the day, he'd realised he was a man in trouble; he'd vested a hell of a lot of time into his co-worker's Christmas present; he'd invited her around for Christmas with his family and he'd coerced her into going out for a beer. He could put it down to the festive season; but really... there was a quiet little voice in the back of his mind that told him that maybe, just maybe, there was something a little bit more between them. Time, he figured, would eventually come to tell. If it was meant to be with Lindsay, it would be. If it wasn't meant to be, he could rest easy knowing that he'd have a best friend in her for the rest of his days; sure it would be a shame, but such as was life. If it was meant to be however... well, he could only marvel at what potential there was for them.

But until then, all he could do was enjoy all that she offered him as a friend. And hope that one day, he'd gather up enough courage to tell her how he really felt.

* * *

><p><strong>There we have it folks! I hope you enjoyed. It was mightly long... but hopefully you didn't mind. I do have another idea for a Christmassy one-shot, so this may not be the last you've heard from me... but if it is, I hope you all have a magical Christmas or holiday period. Have fun and stay safe folks! :) <strong>

**As ever, thoughts and comments are appreciated... and thank you for reading! **

**Merry Christmas :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This may come as no surprise, but what started with an honest one-shot has turned into a few more chapters. I know. I know. I'm useless. I blame Fred. And afrozenheart a little bit too. I'd posted it with no further ideas on this, but as soon as I read her review, (and then loveisintheairforDL's too) I just knew that there were somethings I needed to finish. So here we are; there's going to be at least another chapter after this one... but then after that, your guess would be as good as mine. Fred, I'm sure will let me know in due course. In the meantime however, I hope you enjoy this one.**

**Huge thank you to those of you who reviewed the first chapter. I really, really appreciate the kind words**! montanascreed, elja, ck, hope06, webdlfan, afrozenheart412, Daisy1966, brendanakai, 18lzytwner and LoveIsInTheAir4DL.** You guys are awesome. Thank you! **

* * *

><p>Pacing back and forth, Lindsay Monroe checked her appearance for the umpteenth time. She felt like there was something just... not clicking into place. She wasn't sure why; but she just had this gut instinct. She knew that in reality, she was probably panicking over nothing and she looked fine! She'd opted for a red sweater, coupled with her fitted jeans that had tints of green to them - figuring that she'd go for a modestly festive look. She looked smart, but casual so that she'd easily blend with both dress-codes; depending on what the Messer's preference of dress was for Christmas Day.<p>

She had her presents ready near the door, her speciality dish was wrapped up and had been placed in the cardboard box she'd 'borrowed' from the bodega just down the street, and her pecan pie was foiled up and ready to be warmed when needed... And now, she was just waiting on Danny.

She ran her fingers through her curled hair as she carefully checked her make-up. Why did she care so damn much? It wasn't as if she and Danny were dating. She had no reason to be so on edge. This was no big deal... Not a big deal at all... she was only spending Christmas with his family. She was his friend. Friends could go over to one another's house on Christmas and it not mean anything... but yet, it meant a lot to her. She grimaced;_ why_ had she said yes to this affair? She would have been more than content spending Christmas in her cosy apartment, listening to her favourite Christmas songs and watching Christmas movies until slipping into a Turkey induced coma on her couch. But oh no... Messer had to go and invite her to his parents' house and...

The buzzer abruptly cut her internal freak-out short.

"Hello?"

"Merry Christmas, Montana!" Danny's voice echoed through the static of the aged intercom. "Want me to come on up and give you a hand?"

"Ummm..."

"I'll take that as a yeah. Buzz me in," he chucked in response to her hesitance. She did so quickly and instantly cringed; he was either going to laugh his ass off at her, or kill her for going overboard. He knocked at the door and she called out to him, telling him it was open as she assessed how exactly she planned on transporting her purchases downstairs.

"Hey Mon-what the hell is all of that?" Danny implored as his eyes absorbed the mountain of wrapped gifts that sat in two gift bags on her floor. "Don't tell me that all of that is coming with us."

"Uhhh..."

"What... Just... What?" He blinked. "Montana, what are all of these?"

"Don't get mad," she began, "but I went shopping yesterday... after you called me to tell me that your mom was excited to meet me, I felt really guilty about going empty handed... So I made some food to contribute."

"Along with half of Macy's?" He snorted. "Montana... You're crazy. Are these seriously comin' with us?"

"Yeah," she blushed profusely. "Look, it looks a lot more than it actually is. It's only a few presents for your mom, dad, Louie and then something for your little cousins; it really isn't that much."

"Lindsay, my ma is gonna kill you." Danny smirked. "I'm warnin' ya now. She'll be questionin' your sanity."

"It seriously isn't much." She insisted. "Just some thoughtful things to say thank you for having me... That's all."

"The food contribution would have been more than enough, kiddo... What exactly have you made?"

"My mom's sweet potatoes and a pecan pie; will that be okay?"

"You mean the sweet potatoes that you did for Mac's Thanksgiving get together?" Danny gasped. "The ones in brown sugar and cinnamon?"

She nodded, amused with the drool practically spilling from his mouth. "Yeah, think that's gonna be okay?"

"Hell yeah!" He cried. "I dream about that taste sensation."

"Hey," she held her hands in the air, a playful glint in her eyes. "We don't judge here; whatever floats your boat, sir."

"Load me up, Montana." He rolled his eyes. "With you playin' Santa Claus it's gonna take about fifty trips... We're behind schedule as it is. Come on... Let's get a move on."

She rolled her eyes, but handed him one of her two gift bags, filled with presents. Their fingertips brushed for only a second, but she could feel the electricity pass from him, onto her. There was definitely no denying their chemistry. That much was for sure.

He gallantly accepted her gifts, and quickly swept up the second bag of gifts, earning a look of protest from Lindsay. He then proceeded to try and take the box of pre-prepared food, but she simply swatted his hand away and shook her head. He rolled his eyes in response and stood in silence as she spun around quickly, making sure that she hadn't forgotten everything, and everything was turned off that needed to be.

She nodded to him that they were good to go and went to grab her purse and keys from the kitchen counter. As she made her way over to the door where he was still standing, she let out a breath. "I think that's everything now... if I forget anything then well... tough shit I guess."

"Montana," he said, breaking their silence. "Listen, before we go..." he trailed off as he got her attention focused solely on him. "I want you to know that you look really pretty."

"I do?" she smiled softly.

He nodded. "Yeah, you do... and there's no need to be nervous."

"I'm not nervous," she scoffed, tugging her sweater down slightly to meet the waistband of her jeans.

"Sure thing," he smirked. "Except, I know you. Just relax, okay? You look nice."

She sighed. She couldn't deny him the fact that he was perceptive to her; had she not been fretting about her chosen outfit ten minutes previous? Instead of protesting any more though, she smiled softly and nodded.

"Alright," he returned the smile, "we better get goin' 'cause we're pretty late as it is." He gestured towards the hallway.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Yeah, I'm right behind you."

As she placed the food on the floor in the hallway, she let out a relieved sigh as she slipped her key into her lock. If she was completely honest, his compliment had just settled all of her fears and had filled her with a little bit of something that she just wasn't sure about; whatever it was though, filled her with excitement.

"Today, Montana!" Danny sing-songed as a way of gaining her attention; she glanced up, and realised that he was holding the elevator. She took a deep breath and bent down to pick up the box, containing her sweet potatoes and pecan pie.

_Well, here we go. _She thought to herself.

* * *

><p>The drive to Danny's childhood house in Staten Island had been a pleasant one. Traffic was a little less congested than they had originally predicted, meaning that they time that they'd lost in Lindsay's apartment was made up slightly, ensuring that they got to his parents' house just on schedule.<p>

Lindsay smiled brightly as he pulled the Avalanche into the driveway of his home; it had been exactly what she'd expected; very unassuming, worn and clearly loved. And just from the exterior of the house, she could tell that it was a home.

"Well, this is Casa a la Messer." He smirked. "Pretty sure I threw in both Spanish and French there, but whatever. Now, before we go in; just gotta warn ya. My Dad, Larry, will probably say maybe three words to you when the game is on; which will be either, move, beer or hush - don't take it personally; he'd be the same with the Queen of England."

"Right," Lindsay nodded. "Don't take offence when the game is on... wait, what game?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "He watches the Thanksgiving football game on Christmas Day; don't ask about it; we'll be here until New Years' tryin' to make sense of the logic."

"Got'cha." She smirked. "Anything else I should know?"

"My ma, Denise, will probably snap you right up into the kitchen and interrogate you. Ignore anything and everything she says. None of it is the truth."

"Suspicious, but okay." She smirked. "Anything else?"

"If my cousins' are pissin' ya off, tell them no, you don't wanna play with them; they won't take it personally – in fact, I think they need someone to say no to them; but that again is a different story. Louie should be home, but I very much doubt he'll be mingling – so don't worry about having to make small talk. Just stick with me and you should be fine, kiddo."

"Right." Lindsay nodded. "Quick question." She pursed her lips together. "Now, I don't mean to offend you..."

"Uh, okay..."

"Aren't your parents... Italian?"

"My Dad is... why?"

"Larry just isn't what I expected your Dad's name to be."

Danny snorted. "What did you expect? Fabrizio? Paolo?"

"Well, yeah actually," she blushed. "I just..."

"His real name is Lorenzo." Danny smirked. "You weren't far off, Montana."

"Ah, Larry's short for Lorenzo then?"

"You're a smart cookie; can't get shit past you, can I?" Danny licked his lips as she slugged him playfully in the arm.

"Alright wiseass," She rolled her eyes. "Anything else I should know?"

"Uhh, Cindy's comin'," he added with a slightly apologetic tone. "Her family conveniently headed off to Aspen for the holidays and left her by herself. She was fishin' for an invite until she was blue in the face so I couldn't really not ask her to come, ya know?"

"Well Danny, she is your girlfriend." Lindsay reminded him. "You don't need to explain yourself to me; honest."

"I know but... Just, don't let her make you feel uncomfortable, k? I know how she can be sometimes when she feels... threatened, shall we say?"

"Is there a reason for her to be threatened?" Lindsay asked with raised brows.

"No; but she's a little green eyed blob with two legs, so... just, take everything she says and does with a handful or two of salt."

"I must say," Lindsay smirked. "You're really selling her to me, Danny. I hope you're this complimentary about me to other people."

"Yeah well, I'm just giving you the vital tips to surviving a Messer Christmas... you ready?"

"Born ready." She grinned. "Here we go."

They stepped out of the car in sync to one another and quickly gathered Lindsay's gifts and food offerings from the back seat. Together, they managed to make it to the front door and somehow stumbled through the opened entrance; Danny announcing their arrival as he led the way.

"Danny?" A motherly voice called out, "Is Lindsay with you?"

"She sure is!"

"Merry Christmas!" A slightly deeper voice called out.

"Merry Christmas, Dad!" Danny called back in response; he turned back and offered Lindsay a reassuring smile. "I'm apologising now in advance."

Lindsay giggled softly; and her smiling face was the first thing that greeted Denise Messer; effectively giving her a first impression of Lindsay Monroe.

"Oh Danny, Merry Christmas." His mother embraced him, casting a glance to the presents he held, but not questioning them for the moment. "How was the drive?" she asked as she ran her hands up and down her son's back affectionately.

"Not too bad," he shrugged as he pressed a kiss to his mother's cheek. "Merry Christmas, Mom. Listen, this is Lindsay Monroe; she's my-"

"I know who she is, sweetie." Denise smiled as she pulled away from Danny and motioned to Lindsay. "I've heard so much about you – it's nice to finally put a pretty face to a name. Merry Christmas, sweetheart." Denise offered her a one armed hug, mindful of the box Lindsay was still holding.

Lindsay's lips were instantly stretched across her face as she responded to Denise Messer's kind words with a smile. "Merry Christmas," she returned finally. "Thank you so much for having me... I really hope that it's not too much trouble."

"Trouble? Absolutely not Lindsay," Denise shook her head adamantly. "The more the merrier in fact. What's this you've got?" She gestured to the box of food.

"Oh, it's just a little bit of a contribution." Lindsay blushed. "I didn't want to come empty handed. I hope you don't mind. It's just one of my Mom's recipes for Sweet Potatoes and a Pecan Pie for dessert. I thought that with Danny's appetite you could do with as much food as you could get your hands on."

"Oh Lindsay," Denise smiled brightly, "You really shouldn't have gone to so much trouble, but thank you. That's very sweet of you. Here, let me take it to the kitchen..." She took the box from Lindsay without a second's thought, leaving Lindsay with no time to protest her taking it from her. "Danny, get Lindsay and yourself a drink."

"Sure thing, Mom." He rolled his eyes as he followed her into the kitchen. "Say, where shall I put these?" he gestured to the gift bags he was still holding.

"What are they?" Denise asked over her shoulder as she unloaded the boxes and read over the cooking instructions Lindsay had taped to the lid of the Sweet Potatoes. "Oh Lindsay, your efficiency excites me more than it should; you can definitely come again. This smells absolutely delicious... I may have to borrow the recipe if you wouldn't mind."

"I'll write it down before I leave." She smiled.

"Uh, hi... yeah, remember me?" Danny coughed. "Where'd you want me to put these, Mom?"

"Well, what are they, Daniel?" she growled. "I asked you before, I don't see why I have to ask again."

"They're presents from Lindsay." He replied, biting his tongue with the response that he actually wanted to give.

"For you?" Denise asked, her face frowning with confusion.

"No," Danny shook his head, "For you guys, actually."

Denise turned her head to Lindsay, who was sporting a very attractive blush on her cheeks. "What's he talking about, Lindsay?"

"I..." Lindsay took a deep breath. "They're just little bits of things to say thank you and Merry Christmas. I wasn't sure who was coming exactly, so I just bought for yourself, Danny's dad, Louie and the cousins that Danny mentioned. There's a box of chocolates in there too though; I didn't want to completely disregard the others."

"Lindsay, you're absolutely insane." Denise smiled, "It's extremely sweet; but you shouldn't have. Bringing food would have been more than enough."

"Told ya," Danny smirked.

"Go put those under the tree, Danny." Denise instructed. "What time have you got to go and get... help me out, sweetheart; what's her name?"

"Cindy?" Danny implored. "About ten minutes." He said as he sulked into the living room and greeted his other relatives.

"Ugh, great." Denise muttered under her breath as Lindsay stood like a lemon in the middle of the Messer's kitchen. She took the time to absorb her surroundings and she couldn't help but smile. Oh how she and Danny had grown up in different settings. Her kitchen was one of the biggest rooms in their home; being the central point for most family gatherings with both their table and breakfast bar not making a dint in the workspace area. Danny's house didn't have the same layout; where she stood in the corner of the room by the wall was nearly on top of his mother who was stood at the stove. She couldn't help but smile affectionately at the 'Bronx Marble' he'd boasted about a few weeks ago. Or in other words, linoleum. He hadn't been joking. Even though she'd only seen the kitchen; it was obvious that Danny's childhood home had a hell of a lot of character in it.

"Montana, you wanna come with me to get Cindy?" Danny's voice broke her thoughts. "Or will ya be okay here?"

"I'm fine here, if that's okay?" Lindsay said tentatively; feeling a strange sense of ease with Denise Messer.

"Absolutely fine with me," Denise cut in. "There's no need for you to go out again, is there Lindsay?"

"As long as you're sure..." Danny stared at her. "Positive?"

Lindsay nodded. "Yeah, it's probably better you pick Cindy up anyway, right?" she said. "By yourself I mean..."

"Yeah." He sighed, "I guess you're right. I'm gonna head off now okay though... call me if they start bein' mean. And block your ears if they start tellin' you stories, k? Especially my Ma and remember what I said," he lowered his voice as he stepped closer to her and pushed her hair from her face and whispered in her ear. "All lies, Montana."

"All lies," she responded with a whisper and a smirk. "Got'cha."

"Alright," Danny sighed heavily. "I'll be back..."

"Drive safe." Denise called out. "Don't worry if you get stuck in traffic; don't rush. We're not going to be eating for at least another two hours..." She then dropped her voice so only Lindsay could catch onto her words, "So really, there's no need to get the girlfriend from hell yet, but whatever, son."

"Yep..." Danny replied, clearly not listening as he gathered up his keys and headed out of the kitchen.

_All by yourself now, Lindsay. _Lindsay thought to herself. _Say something smart. _"Do you need any help with anything, Denise?"

"Um, no thank you, you're alright sweetheart; I've got everything under control. Stay in here with me though all the same. Seen as my pathetic son couldn't manage tending to his guest, what do you want to drink? I've got juice, some soda I think... or if you're not driving, I've got beer, wine... um, I think there maybe some wine coolers in there too. Pretty sure there's some eggnog if you like that stuff. There should be some mulled wine as well. The choice is yours!"

"Mulled wine?" Lindsay implored. "I'd love some of that, if that's okay?" Lindsay smiled. As Denise broke away from the stove, Lindsay stepped forwards from her spot and shook her head. "I'll get it," she smiled. "It'll give me some use."

Denise smiled and laid a hand on Lindsay's arm and rubbed it affectionately before turning back to the stove.

Lindsay helped herself to a healthy portion of the mulled wine in the Messer's bursting refrigerator she then placed the bottle back into the fridge; she then placed the mug into the microwave to heat it up. "I really appreciate Danny inviting me over," she began as a way of conversation, as she stood by the microwave. "He's so sweet to me; he's a really nice guy. You've got a lovely son."

"Well, he thinks very highly of you." Denise smiled as Lindsay settled much closer to her than she had been previously. "He talks about you a lot."

"Really?" Lindsay blinked.

"He's got a crush on you, sweetheart." Denise turned and smiled. "He might not know it, but it's pretty obvious for everyone else. He's got it pretty bad for you; which really makes me question his sanity, because I have no idea why he's still with that... _Cindy._" She said with disdain.

"Would it surprise you if you're not the first person to have said that to me?" Lindsay blushed as she retrieved her mulled wine from the microwave and cradled in in her hands.

"Nope." Denise shook her head. "And I very much doubt I'll be the last." She said. "So Lindsay, tell me about Montana..."

* * *

><p>"I just don't understand why you invited her, babycakes." Cindy whined as she folded her arms over her chest. "This was supposed to be our special Christmas."<p>

"Cindy, I told you once alright; Lindsay's already there now so let it go." He sighed heavily.

"Fine," she huffed. "So anyway, my sister called last minute yesterday and asked me if-"

He was quickly beginning to regret agreeing to Cindy coming along to Christmas Day with his family. She was already being a pain in the ass and they hadn't even made it out of the city yet. She just... infuriated him. She'd been screwing around in her apartment, leaving him sat outside her building, pathetically honking his horn for a good fifteen minutes while she arsed around upstairs. She really did infuriate him. There was no way he was traipsing up the fifteen flights of stairs to her fancy pants apartment just to walk right back down again. He just couldn't understand why she was so difficult.

_You walked up seven flights of stairs for Lindsay; what makes that any different? _His inner voice questioned him; and the truth was - he wasn't sure what made it different. But it _was_ different.

"Are you even listening to me?" She whined.

"Of course I am," he rolled his eyes. "You were tellin' me how your family just took off and left you all by yourself and how I'm your beautiful knight in shining armour for inviting you to spend the day with me." He rattled off her last five minutes worth of conversation. "You underestimate me sometimes, Cindy." He offered her a smile. _Yeah, underestimate my ability to bullshit! _He thought. He'd not listened to a word that she'd said; she was just so damn predictable. It was becoming clear that what he'd thought had been there really wasn't and it was time, he knew, to cut the ties with her. He just didn't know how and when to do it.

He'd been given plenty of opportunities to split up with Cindy as of late; but he'd just not taken them, and quite frankly, he wasn't too sure why that was. He glanced over to her yakking away in the passenger seat and he rolled his eyes; he couldn't deal with her for much longer. She was nice enough, but they had absolutely nothing in common other than their dedication to the bedroom department – and if he was completely honest even that wasn't particularly mind-blowing.

It was Christmas, Danny thought to himself. He was damn lucky to be spending the holidays with his girlfriend. It was their first Christmas together as a couple, and wasn't that a big thing? So why was it then, that when he looked at her, he envisioned Lindsay telling him some story about her childhood and him wanting to hang onto every word she said to him? He couldn't understand why he couldn't think of anyone but the woman currently bonding with his mother in his childhood home.

Except that was a lie and he knew exactly why he couldn't think of anyone but her. He liked her; probably a lot more than he was willing to admit. But denial, for the time being was his safe haven... until he got himself out of the current mess that was his relationship with Cindy.

* * *

><p>Hearing the front door open, Lindsay swallowed her anxiety. Danny really hadn't given her much hope of getting along with Cindy by the way that he'd described her; but she was Lindsay Monroe, and she'd be damned if she couldn't get along with her friend's girlfriend.<p>

"We're in the living room, Danny." Denise called out, before shifting towards Lindsay on the sofa, "Here we go, huh?" she whispered in her ear.

"Everyone, this is Cindy." Danny announced to the room as Cindy curled herself into Danny and offered a fake smile to the room; making very little eye-contact.

"Lovely to meet you, Merry Christmas." Denise smiled from her place on the sofa; Lindsay could feel the difference between her meeting with Denise, and Cindy's and she couldn't help but wonder whether Danny had noticed it too.

"Hi there," Cindy flashed her a smile. "You have a lovely little home."

Denise returned the smile, despite the tenseness in her body Lindsay could feel from sitting next to her. "Well thank you; can I get you anything?"

"No, that won't be necessary." Cindy smirked. "I have my little servant Danny here, don't I, babycakes?"

Now, Lindsay understood Cindy's comment as a playful joke; but cringed regardless as Denise sat up on the couch and blinked; obviously astounded by the comment and not seeing the playfulness in it. It had been a little... tasteless; and not exactly the best time to crack a joke when relations weren't that good to begin with.

Denise licked her lips and glanced quickly at Lindsay. "Is there anything you need refrigerating Carly?"

"Um my name is actually Cindy and no... should there be?" She cast a glance to Danny.

"Oh no," Denise shook her head. "It's just that Lindsay brought some things to contribute, so I just wanted to make sure that anything you might have brought could have been dealt with accordingly, but apparently not."

Cindy licked her lips and turned to face Danny with a scowl on her face. "Danny didn't mention to me about bringing anything..."

"He didn't say anything to Lindsay either," Denise snipped. "But never mind; can I get you both a drink? Dinner should only be about fifteen minutes now. Lindsay, would you like to come and help in the kitchen?"

"Ma," Danny cleared his throat as he stared pointedly at his mother as she left the room abruptly, while Lindsay stood from the couch.

"Danny, it's fine..." Lindsay shook her head. "You and Cindy probably could do with a little time to spend together. It's your first Christmas together after all... don't worry." She said as she approached them. "It's nice to finally meet you by the way," she smiled. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Mhm," Cindy nodded, offering the fake smile of her's again. "I can say the same... You're prettier than Danny let on, actually."

Seeing that as her cue to disappear, Lindsay made her way into the kitchen and shut the door behind her, breathing a sigh of relief. "Oh my gosh," she whispered, getting Denise's attention. "What the hell is he doing? I thought we were friends, but honestly... she's horrible!" she paused. "I think I've lost a little respect for him. What is he doing with _her?_" Lindsay implored. "I mean, she's just plain... horrible."

"Sweetheart, I'm asking myself the same damn thing."

The door opened abruptly, and in the frame stood a furious Danny. He quickly entered the kitchen and shut the door. He wasted no time in resuming the scowl, directed at his mother. "Mom, what the hell? Why'd you do that?"

"I just wondered whether..."

"Nah, knock that off Ma, I know what you were doin'... tryin' to make her all riled up. This is just as awkward for me as it is for you guys, okay? Not to mention you've put Montana in a really awkward position."

"Why? Because she's had a better upbringing than that little-" Denise trailed off. "_Christmas... it's Christmas. Time and place, Denise... time and place_." She muttered to herself before facing her son properly. "How about you get her a drink?"

"She doesn't want one." He scoffed. "Look, just... let's get this over with, k? I don't want her here just as much as you don't, but-"

"Well, why the hell is she here then?" Denise implored. "Because I sure as hell didn't invite her! She's your girlfriend Danny."

"Yeah, I know that... just, let's leave it for now okay? She won't stay long, trust me."

"Fine by me!" Denise snapped. "I can pack up her dessert and she can have it on the road for all I care. You know Danny; I have better things to be doing than to be cooking all day."

"Nobody said that you had to do it!" he growled.

"Who else would have? You?" Denise countered. "Yeah, right."

Lindsay cleared her throat nervously and offered the two raging Messer's a smile. "Listen, I know this isn't my place, but the last thing that either of you need is an argument today. All of your family is together and it's a time to celebrate. Put issues and... certain other things to one side for today. Cindy is probably feeling really nervous about meeting you all and just wants to make a good impression..."

"Yeah," Denise snorted. "I appreciate the effort Lindsay, but that girl..."

"Mom!" Danny implored. "Just for today." He sighed. "Linds is tryin' really hard here..."

"Fine," she scoffed. "But you and I need to have a conversation about your taste in women, Danny; because that in there – will not be my daughter in law. I'll tell you that right now."

"Oh for... I give up." Danny growled as he turned on his heel and stormed out of the kitchen.

"I'll... be back." Lindsay cringed as Denise let out a small expletive.

Hot on Danny's tail, Lindsay followed him as he headed outside and slammed the door. She grabbed both her's and his' jackets and re-opened the door and followed him out. She sighed heavily as she watched him kick a small stone from the porch across the small front lawn. She silently handed him his jacket, coupled with a smile before putting her own on.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Montana." He sighed heavily. "And I'm sorry that you were awkwardly put into the middle of that; with my Mom's dig about the whole bringin' stuff. She's just pissed off, ya know? I hardly blame her. She's done all this and Cindy was just... well. And then you were a sweetheart and brought all of this stuff. Makes ya wonder, doesn't it?"

"It's you I feel sorry for," Lindsay began, "Not me... I can go home after this; you're the one being tugged in fifteen different directions."

"I kinda wish I'd listened to you," he said as he sat himself on the top step where Lindsay quickly followed suit and sat next to him. "You know, split up with her; all this would'a been a lot easier if I had."

"It hasn't been the right time to do it yet," Lindsay shrugged. "Just give her a chance, okay? She's bound to be so nervous. I mean, you saw how I was... enough to comment on it; and I'm only here as your friend. She's meeting her potential future in-laws on Christmas. That's a lot to deal with."

"What's it with everyone marryin' us off? Who says I'd marry her anyway?"

"Well, just hypothetically." Lindsay reasoned. "I mean surely she's not usually like this, is she?"

Danny thought for a second and shook his head, "Sad thing is Montana, she is usually like this... and I brought her here, hopin' she'd act out so that I'd have a legit excuse to end things. Is that bad?"

Lindsay sighed as she scooted closer to him and zipped her jacket up as she began to feel the cold wind. "Well, I don't know what to tell you, bub. It looks like you've answered your own question there, doesn't it?"

"Bub?" Danny glanced towards her with raised brows and an amused look on his face. "That's... new."

She punched him lightly. "What I will say is try to be nice to your Mom; the fact that you know she's right must make this really hard... but she's only being like this because she cares and she doesn't want to see you unhappy."

"Who said I was unhappy?"

"It's written all over your face." Lindsay said as she reached out and touched his cheek. "Just go easy on her, okay. I know it's rich coming from me, considering that I've known her for ten minutes, but she really does care and it's not being done out of spite."

His hand went up to where she'd cupped his cheek and he ran his thumb over her soft hands. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he moved closer to her, closing the gap between them. He could feel the bubbling in the pit of his stomach that told him he was about to do something, probably bad; but right now, he thought that it would bring him the answer he desperately needed.

His lips gently captured her's as he pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her waiting lips. He pulled away and looked towards her apologetically, and just as she was about to lean forward and catch his; they heard the screen door open. They abruptly pulled away from one another and turned to face their new companion; seeing that it was Danny's mother, the both of them tensed slightly. Lindsay had to ignore the guilt that was rapidly rising through her gut and Danny fought the red from his cheeks.

"Dinner's almost ready." She said softly, a look on her face that told the both of them she knew exactly what had just happened. "Everyone else is taking their seats; take your time out here though. I just wanted to let you know."

"Montana was just giving me a little bit of advice." Danny said as he stood and pulled Lindsay to her feet. They began their short walk back inside the house, and Lindsay slipped inside quickly but Denise stopped her son and let the door shut before he could slip in behind Lindsay.

"What'cha doin'?" he implored. "I thought dinner was almost ready?"

"You've got lipgloss on your lips, son." She said as she swiped away the sticky, sparkly remnants of Lindsay's gloss. "You're quickly digging yourself a grave here with the both of them. I knew exactly what was going on out here, and the lipgloss just confirms it. Don't do this to Lindsay; and as much as it pains me to say it, don't do it to Cindy either. Don't make Lindsay the other woman, and don't humiliate Cindy. I don't take kindly to you doing that under my roof, so before anything else happens – you decide who you want to be with, and what you need to do in order to get that; because let me tell you: they're not going to stick around for very long while you figure that out. Understood?"

Danny nodded; his mother's stern words had been exactly what he needed to hear. "Understood," he replied simply. "Thanks Ma. And I'm sorry."

"Just make the right decision, Danny. Don't hurt the one that means more to you just because you're scared."

With that, Denise headed back inside the house, leaving Danny alone with his thoughts.

* * *

><p><strong>Dun, dun, dun! Who's Danny going to choose? Honestly, this story was nothing like I originally planned it to be... but I hope that you're enjoying the direction it's going in nonetheless. I also hope that you guys liked Denise, out of all the parents I've written for DL, I'm especially fond of her... so yeah. <strong>

**And with that, I'm off to bed now for an early night before my birthday celebrations commence in the morning. 21. I'm catching on now. haha!** **Thanks for reading folks, hope you enjoyed. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Alright, so let's have confession time. This isn't a chuffing oneshot, nor is it a few chapters. I was just kidding myself, obviously. I don't have a plan as of yet, but I have an idea of what I'm going to do. If you guys are interested, Fred and I can write it. Let me know what you guys think :)**

**Must say as a side note, the response to the second chapter was amazing! I was so thrilled that so many of you were pleased to see a second chapter! I'm glad you guys are enjoying this. Huge thank yous are due to:** montanascreed, mckenzie, Sweet LIL loz, ck, messerlovesmontana, webdlfan, Thorne Lockehart, LoveIsInTheAir4DL, Daisy1966, hope06, brendanakai, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, alexindigo, Gigglesforcsi and CSINYbabyy.** You guys are brilliant, thank you! :)**

* * *

><p>Sitting back in his seat, Danny watched carefully as Lindsay patiently sat with Ella, his oldest cousin's daughter, as they worked together on the puzzle that Lindsay had bought for her. From a case a couple of weeks ago, Danny had been given an inkling that Lindsay was good with children. With the doll, Sophie, and Abbie, Danny had watched from across the precinct when Abbie had been, quite frankly, a pain in the butt and not breathed a word about the pivotal secret that Sophie had held. And despite the initial look of shock on Lindsay's face at the little girl's refusal to share her secret that would help them essentially solve their case, she kept her cool. He knew for a fact that he'd have had a lot less patience and would have probably ended the conversation with bashing his head against a wall. But not Lindsay. She had an overwhelming amount of patience that quite frankly, touched Danny.<p>

She'd been watching Ella get restless shortly after they'd finished dinner, and she'd quickly side-stepped any drama by offering Ella the opportunity to open the present that Lindsay had brought for her; which had obviously gotten Danny's attention. Although the puzzle that Lindsay had purchased was only something small, and would undoubtedly be hidden at the back of the closet come the end of January, Danny knew that the small gift was going to be their lifesaver for the rest of the day. It was a relatively big puzzle for a five year old – at one hundred pieces, Danny predicted that Ella would lose interest after being unable to match pieces together... but Lindsay had proven him wrong, and rather than have Ella work on the puzzle herself – Lindsay had sat on the floor with her as they worked on it together. Danny had watched them, mesmerised for fifteen minutes, before Cindy had reappeared in the room after slipping outside for a cigarette. Since then, he'd resorted to stealing quick glances every now and then.

The more time he spent watching Lindsay interact with Ella, the more he realised how easily Lindsay fit into his life... and how awkward it was to make Cindy fit. He knew that it was wrong, but when he compared the two women; he knew exactly who it was that would be, hopefully, spending the next Christmas with him and his family... and just maybe the Christmas after that too. If Danny Messer had been confused with his mixed feelings before, Christmas Day had effectively given him a concrete understanding of _exactly_ what he wanted. He wanted Lindsay Monroe. And not just in the sense that he wanted her for the time being; but rather, he could see him with her for... well, for as long as she'd have him.

All of his internal anguish aside, Christmas day dinner had gone as well as Danny could have hoped. Cindy had behaved herself, and Lindsay had tried to reach out to his girlfriend and form some kind of rapport with the woman. Granted she'd had very little luck with Cindy offering one worded answers, but he couldn't fault Lindsay for trying – after all, nobody else had made any effort with his girlfriend. As he progressed through his meal, he could feel himself reaching his limit, but he couldn't help himself as he reached for his third portion of Lindsay's sweet potatoes. They'd taken up the majority of space on his plate and he'd dribbled the sweet and sticky sauce all over his dinner; which hadn't gone unnoticed by Cindy. Every time Lindsay received a compliment about them, Danny could feel Cindy tense next to him.

Present exchanging, however, had not been as... easy going. The purchases that Lindsay had made for Danny's immediate family were well received and highly appreciated. She'd gotten safe items; but all things that surprisingly fit Danny's family perfectly. For his mother, Lindsay had bought a festive baking cook-book; one that her own mother swore by. She'd given his father a sweater that surprisingly fit him like a glove and suited his no-fuss dress sense perfectly; and for Louie, she'd given him a framed picture of Danny and himself; one that she'd secretly stolen from Danny's Facebook profile. Although Louie didn't express his emotion; there was a sparkle in his eyes that told Lindsay he'd been touched by the small, but thoughtful present. Then there was the puzzle she'd purchased for Ella, the fire truck she'd gotten for Ethan and the chocolates she'd put out for everyone else to nibble on.

Danny turned as he acknowledged Cindy speaking to him; he nodded and offered some words in response, and quickly turned his attention back to the space on the living room floor where Lindsay and Ella were getting excited over a chunk of the puzzle they'd been working on.

"It fits, Lindsay! It fits!"

"Connect it to the rest of the picture," Lindsay instructed. "But make sure you do it gently, we don't want to ruin all of our hard work, do we?"

Ella shook her head adamantly and Danny watched as the little girl took great care in connecting the two parts of the puzzle together. The smile on her face was huge and stretched across her face as she beamed towards Lindsay.

"Good job, Ella." Lindsay smiled brightly. "You were super with that."

"You helped me," Ella pointed out. "It's only because you helped me."

"I didn't do anything," Lindsay shook her head. "It was all you, you clever girl... you keep going with this okay? I'm going to go and get a drink and I'll be right back sweetie."

Ella glanced up to Lindsay with bright green eyes and nodded, "But come back, k?"

"I will." She laughed as she ruffled Ella's hair playfully before turning to look at Cindy. "Want to come with me?"

"For a drink?" Cindy glanced at Lindsay before turning to look at Danny. "Sure." She placed a long kiss to Danny's lips; leaving Lindsay with no choice but to look away from the display of affection. Uncomfortable with the situation, Lindsay cleared her throat when she realised that neither had surfaced for air in their kiss a few moments later. Danny broke away first, with a slight look of confusion, mixed with annoyance plastered across his features.

Cindy stood silently and led the way to the kitchen. Together, they passed Danny's mother and father whom were still sat at the dining room table with their fingers linked together, laughing and talking quietly together. Lindsay stood for a prolonged moment as she soaked in the image of Danny's parents. Although her parents were still very much together; it had been a long time since she'd seen them so loved-up like she was currently witnessing with Danny's parents. Stress of a building a life together and the obstacles they had faced as a family, she assumed, had wedged a block in-between them that they hadn't been able to move for a number of years. A block that had her name written in big, bolded letters. Although she'd tried not to feel guilty about it; sometimes she couldn't help but wonder what if - what would her parents be like now if they hadn't faced what they had to in the aftermath of the Diner shooting? She knew that they still very much loved one another, but the spark wasn't as bright as it had once been. Realising however, that she was staring and lost in a reverie, Lindsay quickly made her way into the kitchen, where Cindy was stood tapping her foot against the linoleum, waiting for her.

"What were you looking at?" she questioned as she let out a sigh. She then turned away from Lindsay as she peered at the desserts, displayed across the kitchen counter in their cling-film, waiting for everyone to decide that they were hungry enough for their third course.

"Danny's parents." Lindsay answered as she went to the fridge and grabbed a drink for herself and Cindy. "They were sat giggling and holding hands at the table and I couldn't help but stare. It was pretty sweet to see actually. Danny's a lucky guy seeing his parents like that together."

"Mhmm." Cindy commented under her breath as she accepted the drink Lindsay was handing to her. "Lovely."

Lindsay took a deep breath before taking a drink her of beverage to calm her nerves... and give her the confidence to say what she was about to. "Listen Cindy, I get that it must be hard for you... seeing Danny go to work every day and spending all day with me. I get that. But I promise there's nothing going on between us. We're just friends. And I'd really like for us to be friends too-"

"-So he tells me," Cindy interrupted her.

"I'm a little confused." Lindsay stepped in, ready to defend herself. "Have I done something to upset you, Cindy?"

"No," Cindy shook her head. "No you've been perfectly sweet today; overly sweet if I'm honest."

"Excuse me?" Lindsay raised her brow.

"Do you think I'm stupid Lindsay? It's painfully obvious that you and Danny aren't_ just_ friends."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." Lindsay said crossing her arms over her chest; an unconscious move to protect herself from what she expected was about to come.

Cindy stared at Lindsay with an unnerving glint of something vicious within her eyes. "See, it's just... I was going through Danny's pockets a few weeks ago and there was a stub to a tribute band, then in the other pocket there was receipt for two burgers... it just so happens that on that same night, Danny told me that he had to work late and cancelled on me. You're good at piecing together puzzles Lindsay; tell me, what conclusion would you have come to if you'd been presented with that hard evidence."

Lindsay licked her lips as the angry butterflies in her stomach spread through her entire body. While Cindy was well within her right to question Danny's actions – and probably Lindsay's too – she didn't like Cindy's tone of voice; nor did she like the attitude she was receiving from the woman stood opposite her. "Well, we're friends," Lindsay began defensively. "It's not uncommon for friends to go to dinner together, Cindy. It's nothing malicious or spiteful at the end of the day. It's just innocent."

"And do friends go to crappy concerts too?" Cindy raised her eyebrows. "I'm not as stupid as you think I might be, Lindsay Monroe." She began. "I know you like him; it's plastered all over your face, okay? You think you're subtle bringing all of these gifts and homemade food dishes, but the thing is, he's mine; not yours. He could have split up with me for you, but he still hasn't. What does that tell you?"

As a last resort to keep herself in check, Lindsay bit her lip harder than necessary, drawing a little bit of blood as she did so. The last thing she wanted was to get into a fight with this... woman. But she had to give it to her, Cindy was doing a fine job of talking Lindsay into a slanging match.

"He tolerates you, Lindsay." Cindy continued on. "He knows he has to put up with you at work, and he's figuring that if he spends a bit of time with you, get you comfortable with him and if he manipulates you to make you think that he likes you; he can push the paperwork off on you at the end of the day; get you to do the stuff that he doesn't want to do. Get with it, sweetheart. Danny isn't anything you could get your hands on. And I mean, come on; are you really anything to write home about? I didn't think so."

With that, Cindy downed the rest of her drink and turned on her heel, heading back into the living room. Lindsay swallowed the lump in her throat and ran her tongue over her now bleeding lip. She could feel the tears beginning to form in her eyes and knew that she had to slip out of the house quickly so that she could muster up a little bit of the dignity that was left in order to face Cindy and Danny after that... altercation. She slipped from the kitchen, into the hallway and tried to shut the front door as quietly as possible.

Letting out a sigh of relief once the freezing chill hit her, she let the first tear fall. She was smart enough to know that the amount of alcohol in her system was the main culprit for the tears slipping down her cheeks; but a part of her also argued that Cindy's spiteful and hateful words had hit Lindsay's insecurities with a great force. It would have been silly to deny the fact that on some level, Cindy was right – technically Danny was still with her; he hadn't broken up with her for Lindsay. And although they'd shared a kiss not an hour previous; he was still with Cindy. And, come to think of it - was she really anything to write home about? She was confident enough in herself to appreciate a compliment; but really, was she anything special? She'd thought that Danny had thought she was but now... she wasn't too sure.

She swiped at her tears once again and jumped as she felt a blanket being draped across her shoulders. She turned and through her blurry eyes, she could see the outline of Larry Messer. Absolutely speechless, Lindsay wrapped the blanket around her a little more, and shuffled across the top step, offering an invitation for Danny's father to take a seat next to her if he wanted to.

They sat in silence for a few moments; tears' slipping down Lindsay's cheek and Larry's heavy breathing filling the quiet surroundings.

"I heard what she said," Larry Messer's mixed Italian and New York accent broke the silence. "And I'll tell you right now that she hasn't got a damn clue."

Lindsay sniffled and licked her lip, removing the metallic taste from the skin; cursing herself for biting her lip so hard. "I'm not so sure."

"Well quite frankly, if you believe a word of that, Lindsay; you're as dumb as she is." Larry said.

"Thanks," Lindsay laughed.

"I'm serious; it appears that as I've aged, I've gained this thing called experience and let me tell you; I know a lot more than you think I do... I can tell you with great confidence that I know a hell of a lot more about you than I do her. Danny may be with her, Lindsay, but he loves you. He doesn't know it yet, but he does – and if he doesn't yet, then he will in time. Don't let what she said make you change what you feel for him. Don't allow her to spoil the connection that you two so obviously have with one another."

"I just..." Lindsay sighed. "I feel like I made a mistake in coming today."

"A mistake? Sweetheart, I would never have tasted your sweet potatoes if you hadn't come today; and that would have been a tragedy in itself. You've gotta remember that everything happens for a reason – it might not be clear why right now, but soon you'll make sense of why you came today."

"To mess up Danny's relationship I'm guessing."

"He's good at doing that himself." Larry smirked, "He doesn't need your help, honey."

Lindsay turned to smile at Danny's father. "I'm sorry, I just..." she let out a long sigh. "It's hard to explain."

"Dating's definitely hard," Larry nodded. "That's why I'm so lucky Denise snapped me up when she did. She saved me a lot of heartache; because there's no way on this earth I would have ever gathered up enough courage to ask her out. You don't have to worry about that with Danny. Once he comes to his senses, he'll fight to the death for you, Lindsay. He goes in head-first and heart-strong with everything he does."

"Heart-strong?" Lindsay questioned.

"His heart knows what it wants. He might not seem it, but he's very strong willed."

Lindsay nodded in understanding. "But... what if he wants Cindy? I couldn't blame him; he's already with her, it's familiar... it's the easy option."

"What is it that they say?" Larry thought for a moment, "Nothing that's worthwhile is ever easy. Remember that, Lindsay. It might come in handy someday."

Lindsay smiled and glanced down to her lap. "I should probably call my Dad." She said softly, "he's good at this kind of thing... like you."

"We all have our strengths," Larry smiled as he stood from the step and then offered his hand to Lindsay to help her up. "I'd get something on that cut though, hon. It doesn't look too good."

Lindsay shook her head. "Back home my Dad always used to say that it was better to let it breathe; I'll be okay."

"I know you will be," Larry rubbed her back softly. "And I don't just mean about your lip, you know?"

"I know." Lindsay smiled knowingly.

* * *

><p>Danny craned his neck as he caught sight of Lindsay slipping up the stairs; leading to their second storey. From his place on the couch, he could see Lindsay's puffy eyes and slightly swollen lip. Coupling that with the smug look on Cindy's face and his father's presence in the living room after spending the majority of the day with his mother; Danny managed to figure out that Lindsay and Cindy's exchange in the kitchen hadn't been a particularly friendly one.<p>

Not wanting to jump to conclusions however, Danny leant forward; "Where's Montana goin'?" Danny quietly questioned his father, trying not to draw attention to his concerns.

"I think she wants some alone time," Larry returned, just as quietly – obviously receptive to Danny's dilemma.

He narrowed his eyes, silently mouthing to his father if she was okay, and in response Larry shook his head.

With that, Danny turned his attention to his girlfriend that was curled up on the couch with a smug and satisfied look on her face. Realising that he needed to step in, Danny cleared his throat and prepared himself for the conversation he was about to have. "Cindy, will you come with me a sec?"

"Where are we going?"

"Just outside, I wanna ask you something," he said quietly, as he stood from the couch and helped her up from her seat.

Ignoring the glares that his mother was directing towards Cindy, Danny led them through the house, all the while hoping Lindsay wasn't too upset about whatever had happened between the two of them. Either way, he didn't have to wait much longer. He opened up the front door and let Cindy make her way outside first. She shivered with the cold and he ignored her hints and advances for him to snuggle up to her on the step that she'd automatically sat on. The same step Lindsay had been sat on not moments previous.

"What's up sweetheart?" Cindy inquired with a bat of her eyelashes, "Why did you bring me outside? It's freezing honeycakes."

"What did you say to Lindsay?"

"Nothing..."

"What did you say to her, Cindy?" He repeated, his tone becoming stern. "Why is her lip bleeding? Why are her eyes puffy? Why did she run upstairs?"

"She did her lip all by herself, and if she wants to cry then that's her own problem."

"What did you say to her, Cindy?" he growled.

"I just laid it out to her. She couldn't figure it out for herself, obviously."

"What couldn't she figure out for herself?"

"How you're mine." Cindy barked. "Not her's."

"What?" Danny snapped. "Are you serious?"

"I found those receipts, Danny; from the time you took her to dinner and to that concert. You didn't hide the evidence very well."

"I've got nothing to hide!" he implored. "She's my friend, Cindy. She bought the tickets anyway. She felt more comfortable in checking her bag and I kept my coat with me, and we just shoved the ticket stubs in my pocket."

"Why did you cancel on me that night then?" she implored, "If you've got nothing to hide, then why did you lie?"

"Because she asked me if I wanted to go and I did, so I said yeah. I wanted to spend time with her," Danny said. "I shouldn't have lied, but I did."

"Why?"

"Because we're friends Cindy; that's what friends do. They go places and do things together."

"See, she said that too... except; I don't believe either of you. I bet she was all over you as well, wasn't she?"

"You know what; I've had just about enough of your crap; what's your problem? What's she done to you?"

"I want to ask you a question and I need you to tell me the truth."

Danny sighed, but nodded regardless. "Alright, fine, what?"

"Have you slept together?"

"Are you being serious? For God's sake, Cindy! No, we haven't." he implored. "She's my friend and we're close; there's no crime in that. Do I question you and your friends like you question me and Linds? We'd be here forever if I did; the amount of guys you've got scratching at your door. But the difference between you and me is that I'm comfortable in our relationship to not get hung up over things like that. I could easily struggle to trust you Cindy, but I put my faith in you."

"Are you kidding me? You've been staring at her all day, Danny! I'm not blind. I know what's going on here; first you didn't tell me she'd be here, then you both disappear for ages and you come back in with cherry flavoured lips and then you've spent the rest of the day just staring at her... you've never looked at me the way that you look at her. You're not friends, Danny. I'm not even sure you were ever _just_ friends."

"Well we are."

"In your head you might be, but I think somewhere inside of you is telling us both that there's a lot more to your relationship with her." Cindy paused. "I just don't understand why you'd say it's okay for me to come if you had no intentions of making the day special for us. Why did you invite her?"

"Because she was gonna be by herself..."

"So?"

"I wouldn't have just left her to be by herself on Christmas, Cindy. She's not really got any family other than her Uncle."

"And?" Cindy shrugged. "So?"

"So, I could have left you by yourself today too, but I didn't."

"So what, you're like a Christmas charity? Offering girls in need a place to go for Christmas? How sweet of you," Cindy snipped.

"You know what, if you got to know her, you'd friggin' love her, Cindy."

"Oh, like you do?" Cindy snapped.

"That was uncalled for," Danny scowled at his soon to be ex-girlfriend. "Not to mention childish..."

"Don't change the subject, Danny." She scoffed. "We both know that you like her."

"You haven't even given me a chance, Cindy. You never even considered being friendly with her; she was instantly a threat."

"Do you blame me?" She implored. "All I ever hear about is Lindsay this, Montana that... it gets old Danny. Why wouldn't I see her as a threat? You're obsessed with her."

"You're being childish and ridiculous, Cindy. There's a time and a place for this conversation and it's neither here nor is it now."

"You really think I'm stupid, don't you."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"My hair might be blonde Danny, but I'm not stupid. If there's something you need to tell me, then tell me already. Stop dragging it out. I tasted the cherry on your lips. You know I hate cherry, so that sure as hell wasn't me that you were kissing."

Danny licked his lips, as he stared at his girlfriend, he realised that there was nothing left for him in this relationship. "You know what," Danny spat as he felt the words he'd suppressed for months finally filtering out of his mouth, "Fine; I kissed her. I kissed her right here actually." He began. "You're right; there is a hell of a lot more going on between us, feelings wise, but she's been holding back because she knows that I'm in a relationship with you. Doesn't mean that I have though, so if you're angry and want to take that anger out on someone, it should be me rather than her. She hasn't done anything wrong."

"She kissed you back!" Cindy implored.

"I kissed her though, not the other way round. It's my fault." Danny raised his eyebrows. "I shouldn't have done what you did to you Cindy, and I'm sorry, but you know what... even if I didn't feel like I do for Linds, this still wouldn't work. I can get a new girlfriend... I can't get a new best friend. If you can't get along with Lindsay, then I don't think this would have ever worked."

"You say that as if it's a surprise," She shook her head. "I think we both knew from the start that when Lindsay came into this picture this," she gestured between the two of them, "wasn't going to work; and to be perfectly honest... I'm glad."

"You are? Good." Danny nodded, "I'm glad that there's a mutual understanding here. Let me go and get your coat. I've been drinking so I can't drive you home, but my Dad can; he'll drop you off."

"There's no need. I've got someone coming to get me anyway."

"But I thought you were going to be staying here..." Danny raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah, I was." Cindy began, "But I realised about an hour ago that if you didn't end things with me, I'd be ending things with you. I'm not going to be second fiddle to _that_ in there, Danny. I know that I can do better than being your second best. I just hope she's damn well worth it."

Deciding that enough had been said, Danny bit his tongue as he stepped back inside to get Cindy her coat and see her off home. All the while thinking, _you have no idea how worth it she really is._

* * *

><p>"Alright then Dad, I love you too. Merry Christmas... bye."<p>

Lindsay took a deep breath as she felt the string of tears hit her. Her Christmas, as nice as it had been to spend it with Danny, had been something entirely different to what she was used to. She'd caught her family when they'd been sat by the fire drinking their hot-chocolate with marshmallows as they settled down to watch _It's a Wonderful Life;_ one of their many Monroe family traditions. It had always been one of her favourites, and to speak to them, knowing all the while that she was missing out, had hit her harder than she thought it would.

She assessed the damage to her lip; cursing herself as she realised that she'd bit it far harder than she'd ever wanted to. She was a little angry with herself for being so silly and reacting like she had; but it had been a sore subject and Cindy had hit a nerve head on.

Sighing, Lindsay brushed the tears from her eyes and turned on her heel as she unlocked the bathroom door and made her way out into the hallway. She looked up and stopped in her tracks as her eyes fell on Danny, whom was stood opposite the door with one leg propped up against the wall with his arms folded over his chest.

"Sorry, have you been waiting long?" Lindsay asked, as she quickly swiped away her stray tear.

"Well, long enough to know that you miss your parents but I'm looking after you and making things a little more bearable.' Danny smiled. "You didn't have to sit in the bathroom to speak to your parents, Montana."

"I know," she blushed. "I just didn't want to make a fuss. I thought if I slipped away, it'd be less obvious."

"Nah, I noticed." He said as he stepped away from the wall and caught one of her tears with his finger.

"You did?" She blushed again. "But... I didn't even go near the living room."

"What can I say? I've got some kind of radar when it comes to you." he smirked. "Cindy noticed me noticing you leaving too." He informed her.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to her?" Lindsay said, as he took her hand before sliding down the wall in the hallway, opposite the bathroom. She reluctantly followed suit and settled next to him.

"I would but uh, we broke up."

"You what?"

"We broke up," he repeated.

"Well, I heard that... but, seriously?"

He nodded. "Turns out that we want different things." He said as a way of explanation.

"Like how?"

"She wants me but I don't want her." He said, "I'm not sure whether I was ever really in the relationship to be honest."

"Danny, don't say that on my account. Don't belittle what you had, okay? It isn't fair on her."

"Are you sticking up for her?" he implored.

"Well... no, but... yeah."

"Lindsay, why?" he implored. "How can you after what she said to you?"

Lindsay shrugged as she glanced to the floor.

"Lindsay, about what she said, I'm sor-"

"Don't apologise for her." Lindsay cut in. "To be honest, I don't really care anymore. Let her think and say what she wants, you know?" She paused as she laid her head on Danny's shoulder. "It doesn't matter anymore." She shrugged.

"It does matter."

"It doesn't," Lindsay shook her head. "Trust me."

"She tell me what she said to you, but I get the sneaky feeling it wasn't anything pleasant."

"It wasn't," she shook her head. "As you can tell," she gestured to her face.

"It wasn't true," he whispered as he swiped away a tear. "Whatever she said that is. It wasn't true. I want you to know that."

Lindsay leant into his touch and let out a relieved sigh. "I'm sorry you split up." She offered apologetically.

"Don't be," he shrugged, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. "I ain't."

"But still, breaking up on Christmas isn't exactly the most romantic of ways to spend the holiday."

"So? It needed to be done... what happened to your lip?" he asked her. "And why are your eyes so puffy?"

"My lip? What do you mean?"

"What do you mean what do I mean?" he said softly. "You know fine well that you've cut it. What happened? Did she hit you?" He knew that it probably wasn't the case, but he just wanted to make sure regardless. He'd witnessed what Cindy was capable of saying and doing when she had a few glasses of wine in her system, and he hated that Lindsay had been at the receiving end of that.

Lindsay blushed and shook her head. "She didn't hit me."

"What happened then?" he implored as he softly touched her lip so that he could see it a little better. "It looks really sore."

"I uh... well, I bit it."

"You bit your lip?" he raised his brow as he turned his gaze from the lip in question to her eyes; surprised that Cindy had told him the truth. "Uh, why?"

"Because she was saying things to me... and, it's really stupid. I'm a little embarrassed and I'd really rather not talk about it."

"Why did you bite your lip, Montana?"

"Because..." she sighed, realising that he wasn't going to let up on his insistence to find out what had happened between the two of them. "Because the things she was saying was making me a little emotional and I didn't want to let her win. So... I bit my lip to stop myself from retaliating."

"You're a stubborn pain in the ass, you know that kiddo?" he asked as he assessed the damage that her teeth had done. "I'll tell you what..." He let out a sigh before he closed the distance between them and placed a delicate kiss to Lindsay's cut lip. "Does that feel any better?"

"Hmm, it's still a little sore." She pouted; a ghost of a smile tugging lightly at the corners of her lips. "Try that again."

"It is?" he smirked as he leant in for another kiss. "What about this?"

Their lips met softly, the essence of the day's alcohol consumption evident in both of their breath; but despite the units they'd drank over the course of the day – both of them were surprisingly in control of their actions and emotions. At least, they thought so. Tomorrow, Lindsay thought, may tell a different story.

When they eventually broke away from one another once again, Danny ran his finger over her lip. "You ought to put something on it."

Lindsay shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips at the similarities of Danny and his father. "Back home they say it's better just to let it breathe," she said simply.

"Cute," he smiled.

After their playful kisses and banter had filtered away, Lindsay took a deep breath which filled her with confidence for what she was about to say. "Listen Danny, in all seriousness; I hope you haven't broken up because of me." She said quietly.

"It wasn't because of you exactly," he shook his head. "But I'd be lying if I didn't say for me; it was because she wasn't you. You can't deny that chemistry we have, Montana, and like I said to her, I can get a new girlfriend, but I can't get a new best friend. If she wasn't okay with me having you in my life, then that's her decision. She made it really easy for me."

"Danny..."

"Linds, about that kiss from earlier on the porch," he interjected quickly, "I know that it was wrong, but I – I don't regret it and I want you to know that. I'm just not sure about what we're gonna do about it."

"Going to do about what?" she said quietly.

"What are we gonna do?" he said softly. "About us, I mean."

She shrugged and twisted her lips in anguish. "I'm not sure."

"Do you..."

"I do." She nodded, understanding somehow what those two words meant; two words that posed a heavy question. "But, in the same sense... I don't know."

"You don't know?" Danny's voice hitched a little.

"Let me explain a little..." she began. "I like you," she smiled. "I do... I like you a lot, Danny, but I don't want to put pressure onto us by committing to something straight away. We work as friends; we work so well together being ourselves – and as much as I do have faith in us, I want to make sure that we can make that transition from friends to something more without ruining what we already have. The last thing I want is to lose you because you've come to mean a lot to me, Danny."

"And I don't want to lose you either."

"So, that's why I think it's probably best to not label it or rush into anything," she said with raised eyebrows. "Why don't we keep doing what we're doing and see where things lead. If they lead somewhere, then I'll be happy. If we keep doing our non-dates but use them to test to the water?" she suggested. "I don't want to look back on this with regrets, but I don't want to rush this either."

Danny nodded in understanding.

"Plus, you've literally _just _broken up with Cindy like fifteen seconds ago." She teased him. "How do I know that I'm not just a rebound?" she questioned him playfully.

His fingers instantly sought out her ticklish sides and he playfully tickled her before he pinned her at an awkward angle so that she was half on the floor, and half against the wall. In her position, she was pinned so that she was looking up at him through her lashes; his face mere inches from her own. "You would never, _ever, _be a rebound, Lindsay Monroe." He whispered softly.

"You sure about that?" she replied; trying to be playful, but her insecurities surfacing just a little.

"More positive than you'd ever know."

She offered him a smile.

"I think you know that anyway, Montana." He smirked, keeping his voice low. "I think you're fishin' for compliments."

"Maybe," she blushed. "They don't hurt though."

"Well, you know what Montana, even though it might not seem like it right now, I think I could be the guy that you picture yourself with." He began. "I might not be the ideal guy right now... but if you give me the chance, I could prove myself to you."

"You've got nothing to prove Danny." She cupped his cheek. "I think you underestimate yourself sometimes."

"Well, I've not got a lot going in my favour really... I've kissed you when my girlfriend was sat inside my house gettin' a hard time off my mother... not to mention the countless times I've ranted to you about her. It's not exactly a good selling point for me as a boyfriend, is it?"

Lindsay shrugged. "I'm not completely innocent in this whole fiasco."

"You've got no other ties." He reminded her. "I'm the one who had a girlfriend."

"Yeah, but who has asked you out to dinner? Who snuggled into you at concerts? Who insisted we played pool at your apartment and ended up sleeping in your bed with you?"

"All of that was innocent."

Lindsay glanced down. "Not entirely." She admitted.

"Huh?"

"I... I thought that maybe if you and I spent some time together, I'd get to know you properly. But as we got to know each other, I realised that I no longer wanted to get to know you; I just wanted you... and I've been pretty jealous of Cindy."

"You have?" he implored.

She nodded; her embarrassment evident all over her pink cheeks.

"That's kind of cute, Montana... Didn't realise you were the jealous type."

"I'm not," she scoffed. "Just moping over something that I couldn't have."

"Well, I'm up for grabs now; can you see yourself wanting me somewhere down the line?"

She twisted her lips together playfully and held her index finger to the corner of her mouth; suggesting to him that she was carefully considering her answer. "I could see myself falling for you, Danny Messer."

"And I could see myself fallin' for you too, Lindsay Monroe." He said softly. "I could see myself fallin' for you big time."

She leant towards him and captured his lips in a soft kiss once again. "Maybe we can use these next few months and we'll see how good that prediction of yours is."

Danny nodded. "You know, this works pretty well because my Ma hated Cindy. I'm pretty sure I'd have left with a good smack if I hadn't have stepped in and stuck up for you. She loves you, my Ma that is. Adores you, actually... Ten points for you, Montana. She's not an easy woman to win over when it comes to me."

"Mama's boy." She smirked. "But I'm glad she likes me."

"Adores." Danny corrected playfully. "You know, she told me earlier that if she could pick someone for me to get with and settle down with, it'd be you..."

"It bodes well then that you're planning that marriage proposal then," Lindsay giggled.

"Montana!" He cried. "Jesus, don't joke about stuff like that when she's in earshot... She'll have the plaza booked before I can say_ just kidding_."

Unknown to the couple giggling and joking with one another; their audience was finally done of giving them their alone time. Clearing her throat, Ella made her presence known. "Lindsay..."

"Lindsay?" Danny cut in before Lindsay could answer. "Lindsay? What about me? What am I? Chopped liver?"

Ella giggled as she nibbled on the sleeve of her Christmas sweater. "Lindsay, you promised me you'd come back and you never did."

"Aww sweetheart," Lindsay apologised, "I'm sorry; I had a few things I needed to do. Have you been waiting for me?"

Ella nodded. "I put together like fifty more piece though!" She implored. "Well, fifty-ish."

"Wow!" Lindsay cast a quick, amused glance to Danny. "I better come see then, hadn't I?"

Ella nodded adamantly. She hovered at the top of the stairs and watched as Danny stood and helped Lindsay to her feet. Their hands stayed linked for longer than necessary; sharing a last, longing look at one another before they stepped back into reality. Danny held his hand out for Lindsay to pass him once they'd let go of one another and she offered him a soft smile as she started down the stairs, smiling at Ella, who was still hovering at the top.

Danny couldn't help but smile at the little girl and he scooped her up in his arms as he carefully made his way down the stairs after Lindsay, with Ella tight in his arms. "Have you had a good Christmas, kiddo?" He asked.

"The best!" Ella nodded. "Danny?"

"Yeah?" he asked as he hit the bottom of the stairs. Ella squeezed his arm slightly and he stopped automatically; confused with her odd behaviour.

"Are you and Lindsay boyfriend and girlfriend?" She whispered.

Danny smiled, and looked up quickly to see whether Lindsay was still in earshot. He watched as she walked past Ethan, who was dancing to the Christmas carols filtering through the living room stereo, and grabbed hold of his hand. She twirled him carefully and giggled when he carried on twirling in a circle while she took a seat next to his mother.

"Is she my girlfriend?" Danny repeated. "No, not quite, kiddo." He said softly.

"Do you want her to be your girlfriend?" Ella asked.

"Yeah," Danny smiled. "I'd like her to be..."

"Why don't you ask her?"

"Do you think I should?" He asked with a smile on his face.

Ella nodded adamantly. "I like her lots; she'd be a good girlfriend."

"You think so?" he asked.

"Definitely." The little girl nodded adamantly. "She's _really_ pretty."

"You think she's pretty?" Danny smiled. "That's good, because I think she's beautiful."

"Lots more beautiful than that other lady." Ella said, "You know the one that kept kissing you?" Ella shuddered. "It was like she was searching for all the food that Nana made. Yuk!"

"What if I kissed Lindsay?" He smirked. "Would that be yucky?"

"Duh, you kissing anybody would be yucky, Danny." Ella giggled. "Can I go play now? I need to finish my puzzle with Lindsay."

Setting the little girl on the floor, Danny smiled as she ran through the hall to the living room and used the linoleum flooring to skid on her tights and knocked into her brother. Lindsay leant forward quickly and caught Ethan before he fell. She set him back on his feet before getting back down on the floor and resumed her puzzle activity with an excited Ella.

Obviously aware of her surroundings, Lindsay glanced up and caught Danny staring at her. She smiled softly and winked at him playfully before turning her attention back to Ella. Although her behaviour suggested she wasn't phased by the knowledge of Danny staring; he could see her cheeks turning pink.

He smiled to himself, finding her blushing endearing. He made his way into the living room and smiled at his family as he took a seat on the floor next to Lindsay and began looking at the variety of puzzle pieces that Ella and Lindsay had yet to connect to one another. Lindsay glanced up and smiled at him, and in response he stretched out slightly and placed his hand behind her back. Ignoring the gasps of excitement from his mother, Danny found himself completely at ease with the action and couldn't help but wonder why he'd suppressed his growing affections for Lindsay for as long as he had.

Seemingly perceptive to his thought process, Lindsay turned slightly and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek; once she'd gained his attention, she smiled brightly, and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Danny," in his ear. To which he could only smile. And hope that this was only the beginning of a long, successful journey together for the both of them.

* * *

><p><strong>So guys, here we have it - chapter 3. Like I said before, I have a sustainable amount of ideas to turn this into a little something (in the time since writing the first AN, I've written my plan... it's taken me that long to read through and correct it) so, if you're up for yet enough epic journey with myself, Fred and of course Danny and Lindsay - let me know.**

**Oh god, that was really cheesy. I'm sorry. **

**Thanks for reading guys; hope you enjoyed it :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Well, well, well... look at this, another chapter for this one! I was struggling with a little bit of writers' block because the for the first time ever - and I mean ever - I wrote out a plan for this story so I have a general idea of my direction. (I know, right?) and clearly Fred didn't like it... so we deviated from the plan a little bit, to make him happy... I'm seriously so happy with the reception this story has gotten. I really hope you guys continue to enjoy it, because I think we all know that there's a lot of story to be told here, and I think Fred could be up for the challenge ;) **

**I know we're like nearly in February, but because January has been so ridiculously longgggg (seriously, is it just me or do others think that this month has been never-ending?) I figured we could rewind a little bit. To, oh, I don't know the last ten seconds of December 2005? Yeah? Great. **

**Huge, huge thank you to everyone who reviewed and of course, read last chapter. Like I said before, I'm so thrilled that you guys are enjoying this story! Messerlovesmontana, CTI-Jenn, LoveIsInTheAir4DL, brendanakai, 18lzytwner, afrozenheart412, Daisy1966 and sweetlilloz. Your feedback is much appreciated! Thank you! :) **

* * *

><p>Glancing down at her cell-phone for what seemed like the fiftieth time, Lindsay Monroe let out a sigh. He had fifteen minutes before he was late. It wasn't that she was angry or mad with him, but she was more disappointed at being let down. He'd promised her that he'd be there waiting for her... and when he wasn't stood at her subway stop; she figured he might just be running a little late. Then when ten minutes passed, and then fifteen, she realised that maybe he wasn't running late... She knew and understood that he was finishing up his shift at work, and it had always been a possibility that he wouldn't be able to make it, she'd just hoped that he would be there. He had promised after all.<p>

She tried to suppress the fear that he wouldn't be there on time; or make it all. Whatever happened, she was in New York City for New Years Eve. She'd wanted to do this for _years _and she was finally in the thick of it all. She'd found herself a spot in the middle of Times Square; in perfect view of the ball dropping and the countdown timer and when coupled with the atmosphere, which was unsurprisingly out of this world – she couldn't complain.

Except, Danny being there with her would have made it just that little bit more perfect.

She took a deep breath and decided that she wasn't going to spend the last ten minutes of 2005 wrapped up in her phone waiting on that text message or phone call. When she cast her mind back over what she'd achieved over the past year, she couldn't help but be in awe of the things she'd done. She'd solved the McGinty killings; something that had consumed her entire precinct for months. She'd been noticed by Mac Taylor – something she'd never really hoped for, but once it had happened – she realised that a lot of what she had done thus far had been in hopes of attracting that kind of positive attention. She'd been trying to prove herself as a skilled investigator... and she'd managed it when the job offer landed on her lap.

But quite possibly, her highlight of the year was her relationships that she'd gained from her life-changing move across country. Flack had been a huge factor in her feeling settled in the NY lab. They both shared similar sense of humours, which they had found, gave them a natural pull towards one another as friends. Stella had given her a wealth of knowledge on how to survive in the New York crime lab and had offered a different kind of friendship. In a male populated profession, Lindsay had quickly learnt to grasp onto female friendships with both hands, because they didn't often happen. Mac had already taught her so much, and she sensed that she had a lot more to learn from him – and he was constantly offering the chances for her to grow. She and him had developed quite a solid relationship and she had nothing but respect for her superior... and a huge amount of gratitude for him seeking her out as he had.

But, most significantly, the relationship that she was most proud of was the one that she shared with Danny. She'd known from day one that working with him would never equal a dull day. He offered her a level of banter that she'd always craved for, but never obtained. And the attraction? She'd never really understood how one person could be so attractive; but he had somehow mastered it all. The confidence, the style, the good looks... the accent. When Cindy had made her snide comment about her never being able to get her 'paws into Danny', it had admittedly crushed Lindsay, because unlike Cindy, Lindsay wasn't overly confident in her own looks. She knew that she was attractive and could turn heads with the application of a little mascara and lip-gloss, but... she was fortunate in the 'girl-next-door' looks, rather than the attractiveness that men often craved.

Or so she thought.

As the weeks and months had passed between herself and Danny, the stolen glances and the flirting had suggested that just maybe she'd misjudged that assumption of what it was men found attractive. Whatever it was that Danny saw in her, it seemed like he was very interested.

Well, interested enough to split up with his girlfriend to make himself available for whatever it was developing between the two of them.

There was something about their relationship that filled her with emotions that she hadn't felt in a long time; if ever and while they scared her – they also filled her with excitement for the future and whatever it may hold.

A rumble sounded and voices echoed around her as the countdown began. Her eyes scanned the people in the vicinity around her to see if anyone else was alone. She swallowed tightly and desperately tried to fight the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. He probably had a good excuse for not making twelve o'clock... she knew that. It just didn't make it string any less. She'd have to work on that brave face for when she event-

"Montana!"

"_Ten!" _

She whipped around; despite the crowding around her and her eyes instantly fell on him as he fought his way through the crowd "Danny?"

"_Nine!"_

"I'm so sorry I'm late," he whispered, despite the ruckus around them, as he pulled her into his arms and secured her close to him. "I couldn't get away. Are you mad?"

"_Eight!"_

Glancing up through her eyelashes, the anguish and annoyance that Lindsay had been feeling melted away almost instantly as her eyes met his. It was plainly obvious how bad he felt about leaving her to stand in the middle of Times Square alone, left with the thought of bringing the New Year in alone.

"It doesn't matter," she whispered. "You're here now."

"_Seven!"_

"Better late than never, right?" He offered her a cheeky smile. She could see his chest rising and falling; she had a sneaky feeling he'd broken some personal bests in long distance sprinting in order to reach her just on time.

She closed the distance between them and hovered right by his lips, "Better late than never." She whispered with a smile in confirmation.

"_Six!" _

"Have you been here long?" He whispered, his breath hitting her lips and making them tingle for the anticipation of the kiss that was about to come.

She shook her head silently. "It really doesn't matter."

"_Five!" _

"Are you mad?" He asked softly.

"_Four!"_

She shook her head once more; "You're here now and that's all that matters. You kept your promise didn't you? You said you'd be here, and you're here."

"_Three!"_

"There wasn't anythin' in the world that was gonna stop me from gettin' to you tonight." He told her. "I promised you; I wasn't goin' to leave you."

"_Two!"_

"Are you ready for this?" she smiled, hovering over his lips. "A New Year?"

"A new start with you?" he said softly, "Definitely."

"_One! Happy New Year!" _

She smiled at his admission and was the first to close the distance between them and sealed her lips to his. As they fully embraced their first New Year's kiss as a blossoming couple, Lindsay found herself enveloped in the moment. She could vaguely hear the cheers and celebratory horns around them – but all of those noises seemed muted, fuzzy almost.

As her fingers found a path through his styled hair, holding him close; his arms tightened around her waist as he pulled her towards him and lifted her off the ground just slightly.

As she pulled away, and looked at the remnants of her lipstick on his lips, she felt a giggle bubble out of her as she reached out and wiped away the evidence of their kiss. He winked at her playfully as he pressed a kiss to her thumb that was wiping away her lipstick.

In that moment, she stopped and simply soaked in the image of them together in the middle of Times Square. Even so much as a week ago, she wouldn't have pictured this to be her New Years Eve plan. Never had she even dared to think of letting Danny be her first kiss of 2006. But somehow along the way, it had become her plan. And the moment that she'd shared with him had made her think about what it was their future might just hold. She'd always read in the fantastical romance novels of a moment where everything around stops, and a realisation passes over you that this is it for the rest of your life, marriage, kids, happily ever after, etc. And while she knew that the likelihood of her and Danny getting an ever after was in it's early stages, she couldn't help but wonder – could they? Did they have what it took?

"Happy New Year, Montana." Danny whispered, pulling her from her reverie. "Here's to an amazin' year, right?"

She smiled and nodded. "Here's to an amazing year."

This time, Danny reached out and turned her face to meet his and met her lips with a soft kiss, effectively sealing their promise to one another. Although there was less obvious passion between the two of them in that kiss, Lindsay still felt the tingling that his lips left on her after they'd parted. Even though she had now kissed him a handful of times, it seemed surreal that she was... allowed to kiss him. That he was, well he wasn't _her's,_ but he was as good as. It was a nice surreal though – something that she could definitely get used to.

"You're freezing," he said, breaking the silence. "Wanna go get a hot chocolate somewhere?"

"Definitely." She nodded. "Lead the way?"

Turning in sync to one another, she swallowed as she prepared herself for navigating her way behind Danny and trying to stay close, despite the throngs of people celebrating the New Year.

"Don't lose me," she whispered, expecting her plea to fall on deaf ears, and was consequently surprised when his hand sought out her's and enclosed it in a reassuring grasp that he had no intentions of losing her.

"I got ya, kiddo." He returned before focusing on their path through the crowd.

In response, she squeezed his hand affectionately and marvelled at the feeling that was coursing through her body at his affectionate touch. Before she could even realise, she looked up from where she'd tucked herself into his body as he led the way. He had somehow managed to navigate them to the edge of the crowd.

"Told you I wouldn't lose ya," he smiled as he tucked her into his side and pressed a kiss to her temple. "So, how was it?"

"How was what?" she asked, glancing up at him.

"Your first New Years Eve in New York." He smiled. "Was it everything you imagined it to be?"

She nodded with a sparkle in her eyes. "It was amazing."

"Good," he nodded, "Next year I might even leave it a whole minute before I start looking for you..."

"Next year?" she asked with raised eyebrows, ignoring his other comments made.

"Well, I hope we'll wanna spend next New Years' together, you know?" he shrugged.

"Me too," she whispered as she stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Hey, we might even get to go for dinner before."

"I think you're pushing it a bit far there, Linds." He smirked. "We'll work towards me getting there with a few seconds to spare and then go from there, k?"

Just as she was about to close their distance and capture his lips for another kiss, they heard their names being called by a familiar voice. They turned in sync to one another and separated quickly when they realised who it was calling them.

"Stella!" Lindsay cried as she cast a look towards Danny.

"Mac..." he countered as he shot a look towards her. "Hey guys... Happy New Year."

"Same to the both of you!" Mac smiled enthusiastically. "It's great to see you both."

"As nice as it is, I'm surprised to see you two together," Stella smirked, the fact that they'd been holding hands and their closeness had not been lost on her – and it was obvious by the look on her face that she wasn't going to let it lie. "Aren't you spending tonight with Cindy, Danny?

"Uh, no..."He shook his head. "We actually broke up last week. "

"Oh wow, I'm sorry." She apologised. Her concern quickly disappeared from her face though and her wide grin soon returned and spread across her face. "Well does that mean that-" she gestured between Danny and Lindsay whom were still stood extremely close to one another.

"Us?" Danny glanced at Lindsay quickly. "No."

"No," Lindsay shook her head again. "No, we're still just friends, Stella." She smirked at her friend's disappointment. "Plus, I can't see Mac being too happy with his CSI's... you know..."

Mac held his hands up, "What happens outside of work really has nothing to do with me, Lindsay. If, _hypothetically,_ two of my CSI's wanted to pursue a relationship, so long as their professionalism was at the forefront of their relationship and boundaries were in place and those boundary lines weren't blurred... I'd be quite happy for them to be together because in all honesty, I think they'd make a lovely couple. Hypothetically of course."

"Good to know," Danny nodded. "if ever I catch wind of someone wanting to pursue a relationship, I'll be sure to point them in your direction, Mac." Danny smirked.

"I'm glad to have cleared that _hypothetical_ query up then," Mac smiled. "We're off now. We're back on shift in ten minutes. Enjoy the rest of your night guys. See you tomorrow morning Lindsay."

"Bye Mac," she smiled as she embraced her boss, and then turned to his female partner. "Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year, kiddo." Stella replied as Danny and Mac shared a brief hug. When Lindsay stepped away and turned up to look at the stars, Stella pulled Danny into a tight hug. "I can see it in her eyes; you can't fool me." She said softly.

"Stella..."

"Just go easy; only fools rush in Danny." She said.

"Stella we're just-"

"Don't even!" she smirked into his ear. "Pink has never been your colour of choice, Danny Messer. You might want to wipe that lipstick smudge off your lips properly before you go and tell me you're just friends..."

"You're as bad as my mother." He grimaced as he pulled away and swiped his lips with the back of his hand.

"I saw and said nothing," Stella playfully zipped her lips as she called out for Mac whom had joined Lindsay in her admiration of the night's sky. "We better go, Mac. It'll be hard working through this crowd to get back to the lab. Where are you two off to?"

"Danny promised me hot chocolate," Lindsay smiled in response. "And then probably bed for me," she sighed heavily.

"Danny?" Stella smirked. "What are your plans?"

"Pretty much the same," he shrugged. "I'll drop Linds off at her's and then head back to mine probably." He smirked with raised eyebrows; silently taunting Stella.

"Sounds nice," Mac nodded. "Well, enjoy the rest of your night, be safe."

Both Danny and Lindsay offered their thanks and farewells before Danny put his hands on Lindsay's hips and guided her through the gathering crowd; desperate to get closer to Times Square, despite the mass of people.

"Just keep walkin' Montana," he whispered in her ear. "I ain't goin' anywhere... head towards that diner over there, k?"

"Okay," she replied, snuggling into his embrace; feeling completely at ease with the way that 2006 was already looking.

* * *

><p>"Well, that was quite the surprise." Mac commented as he watched the young couple make their way towards a small, but extremely busy diner. "Although, I can't say I'm surprised."<p>

"Mac Taylor," Stella gasped. "Are you advocating gossip?"

"Nope," he shook his head. "Merely commenting on occurrences; not gossiping."

"Hmm," Stella stared at him thoughtfully. "I'm not surprised either. It's been agony watching them flirt back and forth, you know?"

"Sometimes though Stella, the two people most meant for each other are the last two to realise it."

Turning slowly, Stella stood tall to see over the crowd and found Danny and Lindsay stuck in the middle of the crowd. She smiled fondly as they had clearly decided to embrace the moment and were stood, hands dangling by the other's as they dazed up at the night's sky. "You know Mac, I think they're beginning to realise what we've all been seeing all this time..."

"It's about time," Mac smiled fondly.

* * *

><p><strong>So there's chapter 4 - hope you guys liked! Feedback, is as always, hugely appreciated. Thanks for reading, folks! :) <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I had absolutely no intentions of writing anything tonight, however Fred had other plans entirely. And surprisingly, I'm okay with his stubbornness, hehe. I hope you guys are enjoying the story! This leg of the story is actually getting in line with the canon episodes of the show - this one being Cool Hunter (I think; I always get the one where Danny carries Lindsay across the rooftop confused with Fare Game... go figure). So yeah, I hope you guys enjoy this one. **

**Huge, huge thanks to everyone who has read, favourited, reviewed this story so far. Your encouragement, whether it's silent or a quick - 'loving this' - you have no idea how much I appreciate it :) So, special thanks to: **dannylindsayfan, mckenzie, shipperheart, Scampifish, 18lzytwner, brendanakai, Daisy1966, Gigglesforcsi and hope06.

* * *

><p>Looking up from the computer screen, Lindsay twisted her lips into an amused smile; ever since Danny had gotten back from Washington Heights, he'd had this goofy grin plastered across his face. While she'd not been able to speak to him, he'd text her earlier in the day telling her that he was going there with a hunch... and using his athletic side to help him out. After she'd read the text she'd unfortunately lost about fifteen minutes of her time sat imagining Danny engaging in said athletics, and then consequently in the shower. A nudge from an amused Mac had brought her back to reality – where she'd had to explain her nonexistent findings with extremely pink cheeks.<p>

_Note to self, _She'd thought after Mac had walked away, _try and gather up some self control! _

That had been hours ago now, and she'd been hitting a brick wall over and over again with her evidence. Things just weren't adding up in the way that she was expecting them to... and it was driving her crazy. Dr. Zimmer had no real motive for the crime – especially considering he was swearing to the depths of his drugged soul that he'd never seen the victim before. And despite his issues and problems, Lindsay somehow believed him; which meant that her original theories were way off the mark.

She stood and stretched, removing the kinks from her back. She cleared her throat as she moved smoothly through the lab and into reconstruction where Danny was gazing at a muddied t-shirt.

"What are you doing?" She smirked as she settled on the opposite side of the layout table.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Well," she began with a smile on her face, "It looks like you're still celebrating that handball victory, but that couldn't possibly be the case. I mean it was a whole four hours ago that you got back right? It'd just be sad if you were still gloating."

"What do you want Montana?" Danny sighed as he looked down to his paperwork spread randomly across the work-space.

"I've got a proposition for you..." she smirked.

"Oh yeah? What kind of proposition?" He glanced away from the case-file briefly to let her know that he was interested.

"I uh, I need your help with something."

"Oh yeah?" he smirked. "Well that just depends... what's in it for me?"

"Danny!" she whined. "Come on, just help me out."

"Oh I'll help... but what's in it for me?"

"We can go for drinks after shift?" she suggested. "My treat?"

He licked his lips and mimicked her body language and bent over the table, his hands cupping his face. "I can't say no to that really." He shrugged. "When?"

"Now...?"

"Now?" he implored, snapping up again. "Montana, you've caught me at the worst time ever; I got shit I need to be doing."

"Please?" she cried with a pouted lip. "The quicker you come with me, the sooner you can be back and getting on with whatever it is you're doing."

"Fine." He sighed. "But you better make these damn drinks doubles."

"Whatever," she smirked as she shed her lab coat and offered him a smile over her shoulder as she hung it up. "Get the keys, you're driving."

"I'm helping you _and _I'm driving?"

"Suck it up," she growled as he quickly stored his evidence and findings in their rightful places and signed the seals carefully before placing them back into their box. "You'll be gone an hour at the very most."

"An hour?" he cried, as he dropped the box onto the side and turned to face her. "Linds... I'm really busy, kiddo."

"This will make my case though, Danny. This would really mean a lot to me. I'd really owe you." She pleaded with him; but when she saw in his eyes that he wasn't relenting in his protests, she sighed. "I guess I could always ask Flack or Adam..."

"What do you need me to do, Montana?" he sighed.

"Carry me across a rooftop?"

Danny blinked at her for a moment before sighing. He closed the distance between them and his hand fell to her lower back as he guided her from reconstruction into the hallway and towards Mac's office.

"Where are we going?" she implored.

"Well, I'm figuring the sooner we go, the quicker I'm back, right?"

"You're coming?" she cried; a little more excitement filtering through than she had wanted.

"You left me with no choice, Montana." He shrugged, with a playful glint in his eyes.

"Uh, yes I did leave you with a choice; don't even go there! I only asked you, you didn't _have_ to help me, Danny."

"No Montana, I had no choice."

"You've got this thing called free will; where you can say no if you really want to... you should try it sometime."

"See, that's where you're wrong, kiddo."

"No," she shook her head as he grabbed the set of keys from Mac's office and signed them out. "I'm right, you're wrong."

"Sorry to break it to you sweetheart," he glanced over his shoulder. "But _you're _wrong." He informed her.

"And why is it that I'm wrong and you're not?" she smirked as he turned to face her.

Danny wiggled his eyebrows playfully before answering. "Because let's face it, do you really think I'm going to let the likes of Flack or Adam get their hands on you?" he paused for a second to add effect. Once he'd gained the expected look from Lindsay, he continued. "Exactly, didn't think so."

Lindsay licked her lips playfully as he led her into the hallway. His hand had fallen to the small of her back once again and she couldn't help but smile.

_I'm not going to let the likes of Flack or Adam get their hands on you, am I?_ She felt like teasing him with the plainly obvious fact that he was one, jealous and two, slightly protective. But, when she thought about it, she wasn't sure whether she wanted to embarrass him in that way. She wasn't sure whether he had meant for it to come out like it had, or whether he had meant to say it at all. All she knew was that his possessiveness filled her with a warm feeling that she'd not felt in a long while.

And in all reality, she couldn't have hoped for better results...

* * *

><p>"No, the other lane..."<p>

"What?"

"You need to get in the other lane," she repeated. "What didn't you understand about that?"

"Uh, let's think... the fact that you said the other lane, totally out of the blue and with no further direction. I'm not a mind-reader, Montana."

"Well you should probably work on that then," she scoffed playfully as she crossed her legs and took a sip of her milkshake. "Remind me next time to drive myself; so much for you being in this massive rush to get back to the lab."

"I was hungry." He shrugged as he reached into his take-out bag and filled his mouth with a handful of fries. "Took a lot of energy carryin' you across that roof."

"Bullshit!" she cried. "I weigh nothing compared to the food you just ordered. You and Flack are terrible. I bet if you were to count how much you actually spend on food while you're on shift, you'd feel physically sick."

"Well, some people can't survive on protein bars and an orange, Montana."

"You conveniently forgot my salad..."

"Apologies." He smirked. "And excuse me but how can you say anythin'– you were quick enough to bark your order at the drive thru."

"That's beyond the point." She blushed.

A comfortable silence fell between them as Danny managed to ease his way into the lane that he apparently needed to be in. The small hums of the radio filled their silence with an easy atmosphere.

"So, I meant to ask you," he said as he reached for a napkin that she had perched on her lap. "Where were you thinkin' of goin' tonight?"

"I'm not sure," she smiled as his hand hovered on her knee for much longer than it probably needed to. When she met his eyes with a smile, he squeezed her leg affectionately before taking the intended napkin. "Any preference?"

"There's this great sports bar near my apartment. They do awesome chicken wings; you'll really like them."

"I was actually thinking of somewhere a little more... um, romantic?"

"Oh." Danny nodded contemplatively, "I uh, I didn't get that." He laughed; embarrassment evident on his face. "Well, we could go for that if you wanted. I don't really know anywhere though."

"It's okay. I actually had a little something in mind. It's not far from my place. Just a cute little cocktail bar that I always pass but I never have anyone to go in with; what do you think?"

"Uh, cocktails?" Danny questioned, looking slightly concerned. "I know I said that I wanted doubles for helpin' you Montana, but I don't think I can deal with Sex on the Beach and whatever the hell else they serve at those places."

"They serve beer, Danny." She smirked. "Don't panic; I made sure before I offered it."

"Oh, well... I guess that's the plan then." He nodded. "Want me to pick you up?"

"I could meet you there," she said. "It's not far from the subway and it'll save you walking to mine."

"I guess," he nodded as he reached for another handful of fries. "Could you pass me my drink there, kiddo?"

* * *

><p>"Flack told you I said that?" Lindsay cried. "Is anything sacred anymore?"<p>

"Where do you expect water to come from in a city, Montana?"

"I don't know; the tap?" She mused. "It's not exactly something I think about on a daily basis surprisingly enough." She smirked sarcastically as she took a sip of her drink. "When piping is all you've known, a huge water tower on the top of a building is something worth commenting about, okay? I'd love to see you in Montana, city boy."

"You're so full of crap sometimes, Montana." He smirked in response with a playful look in his eyes. "You know, I didn't believe it before... but the more educated you are, the less common sense you have."

"I retract the offer of me buying tonight. Buy your own damn drinks, smart ass. Don't be such a jerk."

"In here? You've gotta be crazy, Montana. I probably shouldn't even be breathin' the air based on their prices. This kinda air is saved for the elite residents of NYC."

"Comments like that make you undeserving for this air," she swatted him from where she sat. "At least pretend you belong. We'll finish up and then run for our lives."

"I thought they were gonna have a coronary when you asked for a beer." He smirked. "And I never placed you for a fruity kinda girl, Montana."

"I'm partial to a nice cocktail every now and then, thank you very much." She laughed. "I think you forget sometimes that I'm a woman Danny... I don't always crave beer."

"I know but... I've never seen you with anything else."

"Because I felt like I had to impress you back then," she bantered back, before her eyes went wide. "What I mean is..."

"I get it," he laughed as he laid his hand over her's. "Don't worry."

"Not that I don't feel like I have to impress you now..."

"Uh huh, keep on diggin' that hole there, Montana."

She sighed heavily. "Wow, someone needs to take this shovel away from me, right?"

"Sorta," he grinned. "But I get what you mean. You have me now, so there's no need to draw my interest in, 'cause you've already got it, right?"

She smiled and nodded. "Something like that."

They fell into one of their comfortable silences as Lindsay sipped her drink. She cast her eyes down to her dress and she licked her lips. She wasn't sure what possessed her to wear a dress tonight, but when he'd walked towards her in a button down and dress pants, she'd realised they were both on the same wave length.

She kept telling herself that she didn't want to rush this. She didn't want to put pressure on what they could be given half the chance. She didn't want to be let down either... yet, her actions told a completely different story. She sought him out at work, found reasons to spend time with him; invited him out on dates. She even pulled out her trusty and faithful black dress.

She knew that if he asked her to be in a relationship with him, there was a huge chance that she'd tell him that she wasn't ready.

_It's official, _Lindsay thought to herself, _I have major issues here. _

"Earth to Montana..." Danny nudged her softly from across the table. "I lost you for a minute or two there. Everythin' okay?"

"Is this weird?" she asked softly.

"This place?" He began, "Nah, not really... little out of our league, but it's nice. I can see why you wanted to come here."

"No... I don't mean here. I mean us."

"Us?" Danny questioned, sitting up a little more in the booth he was sat in. "I'm not sure, how is it weird?"

"I don't know," she sighed with a shaking of her head. "I just... it's hard to explain."

"Well, start from the beginning and I'll see if I can help you out."

Lindsay took a breath before letting it out again. "I just missed you at work today."

"I missed you too, Linds." He said softly.

"And not in the normal way that I do... like how if we were on a different case, I used to miss the banter and working with you. Today I missed a different side of you. I missed _you_ rather than my partner... and I'm not sure what to do with those kind of feelings."

Danny licked his lips as he quickly realised that she hadn't heard what he'd said. "Linds..."

"Yeah?"

"I missed you too," he repeated in the same, soft tone as he did before.

"You did?" She implored quietly.

"Yeah," he nodded. "To be honest, when you asked me to help ya, it made my day. It was nice to just see you. I really liked spendin' time with ya, even if we were on the clock."

"Yeah," she nodded with a smile. "Lunch, despite my protests was actually really nice."

"See, if you listened every now and then you could have yourself a good time at work, rather than running back to the lab every time food is mentioned... you're missin' out kiddo." He laughed when she flung herself across the table to lay a punch on him. "Atta girl... get us thrown out of here, carry on."

She scowled at him before breaking out into a giggle.

"I just, I feel like we're kind of saying one thing and doing something completely different. We're saying that we wanna take this slow and not put pressure on ourselves, but then all of today we've acted like this couple... and I'm a little confused." She admitted. "I don't want to misinterpret things, you know?"

"I know that we both want to take this slow, okay? I'm not trying to rush this either. I think it's just a case of us going with the natural flow; and isn't that the best way to do this? Not forcing it, but not preventing it from happening either? I know that that's how I want to do it at least."

"I guess you're right," Lindsay nodded with a smile. "I just wanted you to know that this.. this is... it's-"

"-beginning to mean something to you?" Danny offered.

"Kind of," Lindsay nodded with a smile. "I guess you could put it like that."

"Well good, because this is beginning to mean something to me too."

* * *

><p><strong>BOOM! There we have another chapter, eh? I'm hoping you guys are enjoying this. I have some exciting ideas coming up for this story; so I hope you're all going to stay tuned for them! :) Thoughts about this chapter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading :) <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi guys, sorry there has been such a long wait on anything from me. I'm on my last block placement teaching 30 five year olds, so you can imagine the sheer lack of time I've got... but as always, Fred stands his corner and he's won this round, haha. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. It was very fun to write and I hope that fun nature comes across like I really wanted it to. **

**Thank you so much as well for all of the support you've passed my way for this story. I know season 2 was a thousand years ago it seems, but it's so much fun to get back into as I never really went into that part of DL - so this is very fun for me. I hope you keep enjoying and keep checking in. Huge thank you's are owed to:** Hope06, dannylindsayfan, LoveIsInTheAir4DL, gigglesforcsi, Miny23, shipperheart, brendanakai, 18lzytwner, Megan, Daisy1966 and afrozenheart412.**Your kind words are always much appreciated :)**

* * *

><p>"I'm not saying it was bad, I just never expected my first ever marriage proposal to be over a dead football player, that's all." Donned in a towel, Lindsay poked her head around her bedroom door with a cheeky smile on her face. "I think there's more effort needed; you better work on it."<p>

"Very funny Montana," he snorted as his eyes focused on his iPhone screen. "If I was proposing properly you would'a known about it."

"Oh yeah?" she smirked, "Would you have made me an offer I couldn't refuse?"

"Damn right," he boasted.

"I'll believe _that_ when I see it," she snorted.

"You laugh now, but we'll just see about that." He muttered. "Real shame about him, isn't it? Tyrell Mann,"

"Yep," she called out. "Although, you've gotta wonder how much longer he had left anyway with all of those injuries. If he carried on he could have been in a wheelchair."

"Yeah," Danny answered. "So, have you ever been to this kinda thing before?"

"Laser questing?" Lindsay stood in the doorway, now wearing a pair of jeans and her bra. Although he desperately tried not to react, his eyes widened as he absorbed the image of Lindsay in a bra. She was definitely a sight to his eyes, and he knew for a fact that he was one hell of a lucky guy. He leant forward slightly from where he'd taken a place on the couch and his jaw slacked just a little in appreciation.

Clearing her throat playfully to get his attention, Lindsay pointed to her face. "My eyes are up here, Sparky."

"What were you expecting my reaction to be when you decided to come on out here in a bra?" He countered boldly. "You'd have been just as offended if I had just carried on like normal."

Lindsay smirked before rolling her eyes. "To answer your question, yes I have been laser questing before. Haven't you?"

"I got better stuff to be doin' with my time."

"Better stuff to be doing? Like what exactly?" She smirked.

"Stuff."

"Oh, stuff... right. 'Cause you're constantly ticking off stuff from your bucket list." Her face crinkled with sarcasm. "I thought that this would be right up your street. It's like paintballing; haven't you ever been paintballing?"

"Can't say I have," he said, his eyes somehow making their way back to Lindsay's chest once again.

"I don't believe that for a second, but whatever," Lindsay said, shaking her head in mock disgust, as retreated into the bedroom to finish getting ready. "Listen before I forget, Adam told me to tell you to be nice to his friends."

"He said what?" Danny spat. "Why the hell wouldn't I be nice, Montana?" he implored.

"Because I know you." She laughed at his shocked response to the plea for him to be nice. "So just try okay?"

"Don't know what you're talkin' about, Montana."

"Are you gonna be nice?"

"I'll try,"

"Danny!" She implored as she stuck her head around the doorframe of her bedroom. "Promise me."

"Promise me? Montana... come on! How old are we?"

"I mean it, promise me!"

"Fine," he sighed. "I promise... you happy?"

"Yep," she grinned before disappearing again.

"You gonna get ready sometime this century or..."

"I am getting ready!" she scowled at him from her room.

"How many more times you gonna disappear though, Linds?" he said as he made his way to her bedroom, glancing at his watch. "Because we're supposed to be there in like twenty minutes... and I don't know how many more outfit changes we can fit into that kinda time frame."

"Alright smartass, wow." Lindsay smirked over her shoulder as she spritzed some perfume onto her neck and wrists. "Not one for waiting around... I'm taking notes, don't worry."

Danny wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

* * *

><p>They'd found the place with very little trouble and Danny couldn't help but smile at the enthusiasm that was plastered onto Lindsay's face as they walked through the door. If he had learnt anything about Lindsay Monroe in the past few months, it was that she was up for trying anything at least once, jumping in with both hands.<p>

Adam, whom was in the middle of unwrapping a mountain of presents noticed them immediately and waved them over enthusiastically before turning back to his half unwrapped present. "Guys this is awesome!" Adam cried.

Lindsay chuckled and glanced to Danny for his reaction to Adam's excitable nature, but she found that Danny's stare was focused on somewhere else. More specifically, someone else.

"Do you know him?" she whispered in his ear, trying to break Danny's concentration. It wasn't that she wanted his attention to be focused on her, but more on that the look in his eyes unnerved her.

"No."

"Why are you staring then?"

"No reason," Danny finally broke his stare with the guy stood nearby Adam. "Ignore me."

"Is everything okay?" she asked cautiously.

"It's fine." His hand went to the small of her back.

"Guys, over here!" Adam called to them when he realised that they'd not made much distance towards him.

Lindsay glanced to her side and realised that the guy that Danny had been staring at, had now managed to navigate himself towards her as she and Danny moved closer towards Adam and his group of friends. She turned and offered him a polite smile but turned her attention back to Adam.

"Hey, we haven't met."

Taking a deep breath, Lindsay bit her lip as she turned to acknowledge him. "No, we haven't. I'm assuming you're one of Adam's friends."

"And I'm assuming you work with him, because he definitely wouldn't be inviting someone like you to his birthday otherwise."

"Oh wow," Danny snorted.

Lindsay discreetly reached out for his hand to silence him. "Probably not," she then joked with Adam's friend. "It's nice he's had so many people turn up."

"Well, it's the quality of the people who are here, not the quantity, and let me tell you, the quality just got a whole lot better."

Slightly dumbfounded at his reply, Lindsay simply offered a smile in response.

"Listen, I know that this is Adam's birthday and everything but I was wondering; if you don't have anything planned we could go and get a drink or something."

Feeling Danny step towards her, Lindsay moved slightly, silently telling him that she was fine with handling it. "That's very kind, but I'm seeing someone, and if I'm completely honest, the fact that you haven't even bothered to ask me my name hasn't been lost on me. I usually prefer for someone to take an interest in at least my name before drinks _or something_." Lindsay offered him a sarcastic smile. "So I'm afraid that's going to be a no."

"Yeah well, you-"

"You know what buddy, I dare you to finish that sentence," Danny finally found his voice. "See what happens."

"Wow, what's your problem, buddy? I'm just making nice."

"Make nice somewhere else." Danny barked.

"Wow, you know the guy she's seeing or something? I didn't realise she needed a guard dog."

"I am the guy she's seeing."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so now that this is nice and awkward; if you don't mind excusing us," Lindsay said to her admirer before turning to Danny. "Come here with me," She whispered. Danny automatically went for her hand, and she squeezed it tightly before letting it go and gesturing for him to follow her away from the crowd of Adam's friends. "I know," she whispered once she'd stopped them with a comfortable distance between them and Adam. "But remember where we are. This is Adam's birthday... we don't want to upstage him."

"Linds- he- that guy-"

Standing on her tiptoes, Lindsay laid a hand on Danny's chest to steady herself before whispering in his ear, "I'm here with you," she reassured him softly. "And I'm leaving with you. You don't need to get all jealous because someone else is looking. They can look, but they're not going to get to touch, are they?"

Danny closed the distance between the two of them and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. As he turned away from her, he found that the admirer of Lindsay's had finally dropped his gaze and was back in conversation with Adam and his friends.

"You coming to say hello?" Lindsay asked him. "Properly."

"Yeah, I'll be over in a sec. Go ahead and give him the present. I'm gonna just go and get a drink, you want anything?"

"No, I'm good thanks." She smiled. "Don't be too long," she said softly as she turned on her heel and made her way over to Adam to give him the present they'd bought together.

Danny watched her go for a few seconds before he turned on his heel and headed over to the vending machines situated along the wall. As he punched the code in for a bottle of water, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and offered a friendly smile to Flack who was sporting a nice coating of UV paint across his cheeks.

Danny licked his lips as he examined the paint on Flack's cheeks.

"You find the place okay?" Flack asked.

Danny narrowed his eyes as he bent down to collect his water bottle. _What the hell had Flack come dressed in?_

"Danno, why are ya staring at me?"

"Uh, what's that?" Danny gestured to his friend's cheeks.

"UV Paint."

"No shit," Danny smirked. "Why you got that on?"

"Linds told me too. Where's yours?"

"Montana told you to wear that?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Where's yours?"

"Would that also explain your white t-shirt?"

"Yeah..." he nodded. "What's wrong with that?"

Danny turned and found Lindsay trying to hide her smirk as she engrossed herself in conversation with Adam and his friends. "Oh it's nothin'." Danny said quickly, clearly focused on Lindsay rather than his conversation with Flack. "I'll be right back."

Quickly, Danny closed the distance between himself and Lindsay. He took Lindsay's hand, apologised for the break in their conversation and took her to one side. "What did you tell Flack, Montana?"

"Nothing," her face showed no guilt. The playful glint in her eyes, however, told a different story.

"What did you tell him?"

Lindsay licked her lips. "I told him that it was dark, and the point was to try and get the most points, so he had to dress in white and wear UV paint... because obviously he'd be in with a better chance of winning then."

"And he believed your crap?"

"Apparently so," Lindsay smirked as she craned her neck from where Danny was stood, blocking her view of Flack. Adam's friends had now gathered around him and were pointing and laughing at his rookie mistake. "Who would have thought that Flack was a gullible thing?"

"Who would have thought you could come up with convincing lies?" He implored. "He totally believed you."

Lindsay wrapped her fingers around the hem of Danny's green t-shirt and licked her lips. "First thing you should know about me, I'm a practical joker." She said softly. "And the second," she paused for a prolonged moment, "I think you look incredibly sexy in that shirt." With that, she let go of him and slid past him softly, leaving him stood with his jaw nearly scraping the floor. He was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, Montana wasn't the girl next door he thought after all. And in all honesty, he was absolutely fine with that.

* * *

><p>"Alright," Adam coughed; trying to gain the room full's attention. "At a guess, I think everyone's here."<p>

"Who knew Adam could public speak," Danny muttered to Lindsay whom was surprisingly fine with being tucked into his side in front of their friends. Ignoring him completely, Lindsay turned her attention back to Adam.

"So, I think we're gonna need two teams; I'm gonna say crime lab on one team, and then you guys with me," he gestured to his friends. "Sound good?"

"Sounds good to me," Danny muttered in Lindsay's ear, "anything to make sure you're away from Mr. Making Nice over there."

"What did we say?" She scowled at him. "Let it go."

"Trying Linds, I'm really trying." He replied with a snap. "It's just a bit tough when I watch him lick his lips while he stares at you."

"Oh yeah, and it's just the compliment of the week for me." Lindsay replied. "Remind me to ask Adam who he is."

"Not if I ask him first."

"You know," she turned to face him, "Anyone would mistake you for jealous, Danny Messer. What's up with that?"

He shrugged. "I don't like sharing."

"Who said I'm yours to share?" She wiggled her eyebrows playfully at him.

"You didn't need to." He replied with a smirk. "Your hand in my back pocket tells me everything."

Lindsay blinked as she pulled her eyes away from Danny's face and gawped as she realised where her hand had ended up. "I didn't... I never-"

"That's what I-"

"You guys ready?" Adam called over to the two of them, breaking their conversation. Lindsay managed to pull her hand from his pocket and nod. "Yeah, sorry... I was just explaining the rules to Danny."

"Ahh," Adam nodded. "Well, we're gonna go ahead and set up... Flack... you might uh, wanna go wipe that paint off?"

"Yeah," Flack scoffed as he shot a look towards Lindsay.

"I'll come along too," Hawkes called from his conversation he was having with a few of Adam's friends. "I had to come straight from work, so I've got a bag of clothes in my truck. I'll be quick."

Adam nodded as he disappeared off in and amongst with his friends.

"Are you getting the feeling he invited us out of guilt?" Danny smirked towards Lindsay.

"Nah," Lindsay shook her head. "I bet he doesn't know how to juggle it. And to be honest, how likely is it that he sees these guys as much as he sees us? I think it's nice he invited us, he didn't have to."

"Always seeing the good," Danny laughed as he pressed a kiss to her temple. Lindsay stopped and turned to face him after his affectionate move. As they progressed through their friendship and growing relationship as a couple, Danny hadn't ever really been cautious about kissing her. He just seemed to kiss her as and when he wanted to. But kissing her in such an intimate and affectionate area wasn't something he'd ventured into so far.

Although they'd said to one another that they were going to go with the flow, there was still some hesitance between the two of them; especially on Lindsay's side. Danny couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but he knew there was something holding her back. And judging by the shocked look on her face, he figured that he'd taken her by surprise.

"Was that too much?" he asked her softly. "'Cause if it was then I'm sor-"

"No," she shook her head as she ran her hand over his back. "No, it's fine."

"You sure," he said. "Because you don't look fine,"

"Just a surprise," she explained as they approached the desk to gather their equipment for the laser questing. "We said we'd go with the flow, right?"

He nodded.

"Then it's fine," she smiled.

"Oh hey Danny, it's great to see you again."

Danny pulled away from Lindsay as he turned to make eye-contact with the employee that had recognised him. "Hey uh, hey Ted, how's it goin'?"

"Good," The employee that Lindsay noticed was named Ted, replied nonchalantly. "You haven't been for a while, what's up with that?"

Licking her lips, Lindsay turned to Danny with the epitome of amusement plastered across her face. "Yeah Danny, what's up with that?"

"I've had a lot on, we uh, we better go we've been out here a while..." Danny mumbled as he grabbed his body piece and quickly disappeared into the change room.

Hot on his tail, Lindsay too grabbed her suit from Ted as she offered a bright smile before following Danny into the holding room.

"So... could you give me a hand with putting this on, Danny?" she asked after a few moments of silence between the two of them. "What with you being an expert."

"I know exactly what you're going to say, so you might as well go ahead and say it."

"Say what?" Lindsay blinked up at him innocently. "I just need some help, that's all."

"Bullshit," he sighed heavily. "You busted me, so come on, what's it gonna be? You told me so? You know me better than I know myself? I'm a secret dork?"

"Nope," she shook her head as she pulled the equipment over her head. "I don't think I need to say anything."

"Yeah, except I know you and I know for a fact that you're gonna say somethin', so say it already."

Lindsay shook her head as she pulled the strap of the gun over her head. "Nope, nothing to say."

"You're shit at lying."

"So are you." She retorted.

"In my defence, you believed me!"

"You're on a first name basis with the employees Danny!" she implored. "I didn't realise you were such a dork."

"I'm not a dork! You compared this to paintballing earlier!" He scoffed. "Paintballing is cool!"

"Yeah, except you denied ever doing this earlier... you're so busted. Why didn't you just say? What did you think I was going to say?"

He took a deep breath, "Promise you won't laugh?"

"Promise," she nodded, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

"I bring a kid that lives in my building. His mom's a single parent and she struggles a little I think... She wants him to have a guy in his life. I took him to the park to play ball a few months ago just on one of my days off as a favour to her and it just kind of stuck. He loves it here; it makes him feel like a cop like me, or so he tells me."

Lindsay's teasing smile softened as she absorbed Danny's story. "That's really sweet," she replied. "You should have told me," Lindsay said. "It earned you some brownie points."

He shrugged. "I don't do it for the brownie points, Ruben's a great kid. He was beginning to test the lines with his Ma so I think knowing I'm down the hall and the threat of lettin' me down really does something for his conscience... as stupid as it sounds. I think I'm blowing my own trumpet there, but I'd like to think I make a difference."

Lindsay cupped his cheek and stroked the skin softly with her thumb. "When that kid grows up, he's going to have a lot to thank you for. Not many people would do that, Danny. Especially with how much the crime lab asks of you. I think it's really nice."

"You do?" he asked with a growing smile. "I haven't really told anyone about it. Not exactly the kind of thing people would put under my out of work hobbies, I just-"

His unnecessary explanation of his thoughtful promise to the little boy was cut off by a soft kiss to his lips. Just as she was pulling away, Flack appeared from the rest-room where he'd been desperately wiping the UV paint from his cheeks.

"What were you just doin'?" he asked, narrowing his eyes as he soaked in the image of Lindsay inches from Danny's face. "Monroe? What did you just do?"

"He had an eyelash on his cheek, wanted to get the wish in myself before he brushed it off his face," she countered his suspicions with a smile. "And? You have something to say about it?"

Narrowing his eyes as he soaked in Danny's image, "No." He said, "But this isn't over. I'm gonna be watching you two like a hawk, because if I'm honest, that eyelash story is bullshit. You two have been all over each other since I got here. There's somethin' goin' on."

"Yeah well Detective Flack, you're off the clock now so you can lay the conspiracy theories to rest," she smirked. "You better get going Sparky, you're gonna have to run fast with that white t-shirt you've got going on there."

"Yeah, and I'd like for you to elaborate on _why_ I'm wearing a white t-shirt, smartass."

"Because you're a gullible thing," Lindsay smirked as Flack heaved on the Laser questing equipment.

"Are we ready then?" Hawkes asked as he made his way into the changing room.

"Born ready," Danny smirked with his gun.

* * *

><p>"Danny, they're gonna know – we're gonna have no points other than what we've gained off each other!" Lindsay implored. "And I'm pretty sure that defeats the aim of the game."<p>

"So?" He whispered as he tucked his head into the crook of her neck. "I'd much rather spend my time here, kissing you... in the dark... where we could get caught-"

If asked, neither Danny nor Lindsay would have been able to explain how and at what point they'd found themselves tucked away in a corner of the darkened maze, making out like teenagers. It had begun with Lindsay taking a personal vendetta against Danny, shooting him just as he gained his power back; and as a punishment, he'd pinned her against the wall and shot her at point blank range more times than he'd been able to count. But then, one thing had led to another and their playful flirting had ended up... well, how it usually did; in an intense lip-lock.

After of course they'd unloaded and discarded the huge body piece they'd been given to play the game with to one side.

Lindsay sighed against Danny's lips once again."You paid like thirty bucks for us to come and-"

"Linds, I don't care," Danny muttered against her lips as she nibbled on his bottom lip.

Losing the will to protest his affections, Lindsay felt herself moulding around him as she succumbed to his kisses. Her fingers found themselves travelling on their natural path through his styled before settling at the short hairs on the back of his neck. He'd once told her after one of their intense make out sessions that he liked it when she touched him there. She'd been slightly taken aback by his admission because it wasn't ever something she'd expected him to say; but she'd taken the little tidbit of information and stored it away; and brought it out when he least expected it.

He chuckled against her lips as he felt her teasing the hairs at the back of his neck, "I shoulda never told you that," he whispered as his hands went to her sides. He internally prepared himself for the smack that was undoubtedly about to come, as he made one of his boldest moves with her yet and lifted her into his arms as he used the wall to pin her in place.

"You need to be careful," Lindsay whispered. "Flack's just looking for a reason to bust us. I think us engaging in some indecent exposure might just kill him."

"Don't be makin' a habit of bringin' Flack into conversation in times like this," He stated. "I'm puttin' my foot down there,"

Giggling at his serious nature, Lindsay wrapped her legs around his waist as he hitched her further up against the wall. "Finally, you're putting the trousers on. Took you long enough."

"Oh, you think you wear the pants in this relationship? You've gotta be smokin' something, Montana," Danny drawled. "I've always worn the pants; I just let you think you do."

"Oh, what a gentleman," she gushed as she let her head fall against the wall as he buried his head in the crook of her neck. "This is so wrong," she giggled. "Everyone is running around and we're hiding like two kids behind the bike sheds at school."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean," Danny mused, "What did people do behind your bike sheds at school, Montana?"

"You wouldn't wanna know," she nibbled on his lip. "It might give you ideas."

"I've got plenty of my own, thanks." He whispered in her ear.

She could feel her insides tighten as she gathered the material of his shirt in her fists as she pulled him closer. "Stop talking to me and more kissing me. We've got ten minutes left."

"You're not bothered about playing anymore?"

"We'll just say that our guns didn't work."

"They'll know that's bullshit," he smirked as she skimmed her tongue over his lips, searching for access.

"And you care?" she giggled, "Because if you care that much, we'll go play."

"I don't care as much as I thought I did," Before she even had a chance to respond,

"That's what I hoped."

* * *

><p>As Lindsay predicted, the game ended ten minutes later and the small backlight lifted to the full light. After heaving on the body piece once again, Lindsay left their hiding place from one direction, Danny the other. Thanks to the temperature of the atmosphere of the game room both looked like they'd been running around, just like the others... except Danny had to wonder just how much the room temperature had to do with it, and how much was down to the proverbial temperature heating up between the two of them.<p>

They'd congregated with the rest of the group and naturally put some distance between themselves as they unloaded their body piece... for the second time.

"I didn't see you guys once," Adam said as he dropped his body piece next to Danny and gestured for Lindsay to join them. "Where were you?"

"I don't think I stood still for more than five seconds," Lindsay laughed. "I dread to think what my score is. I probably got in a thousand cross fires."

Adam laughed before turning to Danny. "Where were you?"

"Stood on one of the perches," Danny lied. "I had a real good view as people ran past me. It was good for practising my sniper shots." He added with a wink.

As Hawkes returned with the print out of the game records, Danny and Lindsay glanced at one another – there was no escaping some potential scrutiny now. They'd managed to fool Adam with their stories, but they weren't sure how well those stories would stand up to the rest of the group.

"Right," Hawkes called out, "well I can reveal that our birthday boy got the top score of fifty-two thousand. That's pretty impressive."

Whistles of amazement and a small applause broke out and Adam took a proud bow to the masses applauding his accomplishments.

"And the loser... oh look, it's a tie. We've got Danny and Lindsay with a measly one hundred and fifty points each. What were you guys doing? Shooting each other?"

The crowd of Adam's friends broke into laughter at the ridiculous scores. Danny cast a glance towards Lindsay before their real worry spoke up.

"That's interesting," Flack licked his lips. "Both of you having such a low score... not to mention I didn't see either of you once out there. Were you hiding somewhere?"

"Yeah Flack, that's exactly what we were doing. Danny and I had a little hide-out where we sat and made out the entire time," Lindsay scoffed. "Come on, give me a break. We paid thirty bucks between us to play – we just enjoyed it. Like I told you before, there's no conspiracy going on here. We're friends, so don't make it into something that it isn't. So we're shit at laser quest; you can't be good at everything."

As Lindsay protested their innocence to Flack, Danny bit his lip. Hard. He couldn't believe that Lindsay had literally just told Flack exactly what they'd spent their time doing; but in a way that it seemed so... unlikely. The way it flowed from her mouth made him wonder whether she'd planned it all along.

She was a smart, witty one, Danny mused to himself as he glanced down at his score-pad. One hundred and fifty points was pathetic, considering his average was well into the thousands, surpassing Adam's high score of their game. But, he could honestly say he wouldn't have spent the time any differently if they decided to go back in and have another game right now. He knew for a fact that once the lights were done and everyone was engrossed in the game, he'd take Lindsay's hand and lead her off to where they'd nestled themselves and kiss her.

He'd be lying if he said that he didn't want more from her. He was ridiculously attracted to her, and he liked to think it was the same both ways – but for some strange, unknown reason he was just fine with their intense make-out sessions. Rather than getting the golden ticket straight away, he was beginning to appreciate the excitement that a new relationship brought as they progressed through the different stages.

"What have you got to say for yourself, Danno?" Flack questioned, pulling Danny from his reverie.

"What do I think?" Danny smirked. "I think you need to get yourself a girlfriend, or a hobby. Maybe even a pet? You definitely need something to focus your energy on other than mine and Montana's 'secret relationship'."

Lindsay licked her swollen lips as she cast a smirk in Danny's direction. Her eyes told him everything he needed to know, _well played, Messer. _

As he licked his lips and tasted the remnants of her cherry lip-gloss, Danny smirked; definitely well played, Messer.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you guys enjoyed that little bit of movement in their relationship. I have lots of ideas for this story, just not much time right now. Stay tuned because I'm sure I'll be writing another chapter soon. I need a release somehow, right? haha, in the meantime, I offer this. I hope you liked it. Thoughts and comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading :) <strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hi folks, it's been a while; nearly 3 months I think! Apologies on that one. I've been too busy finalising everything this week but I can officially announce that I am a teacher! officially. I got signed off on Tuesday; just waiting for my graduation now. *basks in moment*... okay i'm done :) But as I'm sure a lot of you will know I've been working on this for the past three years - and I'm the first in my family to have gone to college, so it's a huge personal achievement... so obviously, the best way to celebrate is to write a nice, long chapter for you guys! :) **

**Huge thank you to all of you who reviewed last chapter, I always love reading your comments; they're always so kind and I really appreciate every single word! :) CTI-Jenn, megan, LoveIsInTheAirForDL, afrozenheart412, brendanakai, 18lzytwner, evil midget 06, Daisy1966 and gigglesforcsi. Hope you guys are still around for this story. I have ideas brewing for this and a few others. You may remember them - WYHTG? I'm not sure, but there's a provisional idea there. So Fred and I are in discussions about that. **

**Now it's also just dawned on me that I haven't posted anything since the finale... and that means I've not had any contact with you guys about SEASON 9! WE DID IT GUYS. WE GOT A SEASON 9! SOMEONE COME AND HOLD ME WHILE I GO AND DIE FROM EXCITEMENT. Can't believe it; we're seriously so lucky! I'm so excited. *shoves on party hat and blows kazoo!***

**Enough of that though, I'll let you get down to reading! Hope you guys enjoy! **

* * *

><p>Scanning his eyes over the simmering pans, Danny took a swig of his beer that sat on the counter-top. He had no idea why he'd signed up to this… he had to be insane. It was something that Lindsay had started back in… ugh, it had to be like October? She'd invited everyone over to her apartment for a little dinner get together as a mix of a house-warming party for herself and to get to know the team outside of work. Stella had loved the idea so much that in November, she'd done exactly the same. Mac had taken the baton in December; and now here Danny was in January, slaving over the stove on his day off.<p>

"I put the glasses on the table, I hope that's okay."

"Fine," Danny threw over his shoulder, accompanied with a warm smile. "I appreciate your help, Montana. I'd be so behind without you. I can't believe they're getting here in a half an hour."

"No kidding," Lindsay smiled. "Where would you be without me, eh?" She winked before pulling herself up onto his counter top and stole the bottle of beer from his hand. She knocked some back before handing it back to him.

"Make yourself at home," he commented playfully as he picked up the wooden spoon he'd been using to stir the concoction he'd thrown together earlier that day.

"I did," she replied as she turned away from him and began searching through his cupboards behind her.

"Uh, can I help you with anything?" he smirked at her as she rifled through the things in his cupboards.

"I'm hungry."

"Hungry?" He implored. "What the hell do you think I'm doing?" he gestured wildly to the stove-top. "Jesus Linds! Wait twenty minutes and you'll be loving life with all of this food I've got here."

"But I'm hungry now," she said simply as she turned to face him with a pouted lip.

"I ain't got nothin'."

"You have to have _something_ I could nibble on."

"Nope, nada." He said. "You're gonna have to wait for dinner." He closed the distance between them and stood in-between her legs and placed his hands on her knees. "Sorry Montana."

She sighed heavily before leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. There was a hint of beer to his breath, and she ran her tongue over the crease of his lips; drawing him further into the kiss.

"You're gonna land yourself in hot water one of these days doin' that," he growled against her lips as he fought for breath that she'd knocked from his chest with her kisses.

"I am?" she smirked. "Why?"

"Because," he began, "One of these days you're gonna catch me when my self control isn't on top form and well, it won't end well… or it will, depending on how you look at it." He finished with a wink.

"Hmm," Lindsay licked her lips. "I guess that's good to know."

"Behave," he warned her. "They're gonna be here soon. You don't wanna go down that path right now, Montana… trust me."

"Why?" She batted her eyelashes innocently.

"Because," he sighed, "I don't think the best way to approach a blossoming inter-office relationship with your co-workers is by being half dressed in the middle of the kitchen when they walk in."

"Lock the door then," Lindsay raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Good try," he chuckled as he stepped away from her to stir the sauce on the stove-top.

"It's not funny," she scoffed.

"I didn't say it was."

"You laughed though."

"Out of disbelief," He winked. "I never pegged you for being a kinky type you know, Montana."

"I'm not," she licked her lips as she reached for Danny's arm and pulled him towards her.

"What are you then?"

She wiggled her eyebrows playfully; she then closed the distance between them and laid her forehead against his. "You'll have to wait and see," she whispered.

In response, he smirked and sealed his lips to hers, but as their lips met, the apartment buzzer sounded and Danny sighed heavily. "They're early; back to being 'just friends' eh?" he said.

"I guess so," she sighed as she hopped off the counter and ran her fingers through her curls as he went to answer the door. She watched him as he walked away from her and she could feel a rising feeling of something within her. She couldn't quite put her finger on the exact emotion she was feeling but she knew she was definitely feeling more of it with every day she spent with him. And she knew it was a good feeling. He turned to face her quickly before he opened up the door and sent a wink in her direction. The wink filled her with butterflies; butterflies that she hadn't felt in a long time.

And because of those butterflies, she wasn't exactly sure how long she could pretend that she was _just_ Danny's friend.

* * *

><p>"Did you know that you burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television?"<p>

"I can think of some other things that can burn calories." Danny smirked towards Lindsay as he draped an arm over her chair. "If you know what I mean." He finished with a wink.

"That's disgusting," she scoffed as she turned her attention back to the team. "Well did you know-?"

"Montana; let me stop you there," Danny smirked. "We're about to go into food comas; we don't need a lesson in your trivia to help us along in the process."

"Actually, did you know where they got the word trivia from?"

"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell us," Mac smiled.

"Well, it comes the Latin "tri-" + "via", which means three streets. It's because in ancient times, at an intersection of three streets in Rome, they would have a type of kiosk where ancillary information was listed. You might be interested in it, you might not, hence they were bits of 'trivia'." She smiled proudly.

"So like this conversation," Danny smirked.

"Like you, actually." She stuck her tongue out at him and elbowed him in the side. "It's a damn good job I have a thick skin and I ignore the crap you give me, isn't it?"

"So Adam, did you have a lovely birthday." Stella turned the conversation away from Danny and Lindsay's flirtatious banter.

"Uh yeah," Adam blushed. "It was… good. We had a good time Laser Questing. Danny and Lindsay sucked though."

"They were too busy elsewhere," Flack smirked, staring Danny down. "Weren't you, buddy?"

"Think whatever you want, Flack. I don't care."

"You're not denying it."

"Can't get shit past you, can I?" Danny licked his lips as he raised his eyebrows.

"Now now," Stella mocked. "Calm down boys, otherwise take this outside."

"It's like handbags at dawn with these two." Lindsay quipped.

"We just need to get them a padded room and let them beat each other up. Get it out of their systems." Stella added.

"Ha ha," Flack snorted. "Danny would last ten minutes with me before-"

"Before I beat the crap out of you." Danny finished. "I'm gonna go do the dishwasher. Does anyone want a drink?"

Protests came from each member of the team, arguing that Danny had provided them with a beautiful meal and how he'd slaved away all day on his day off; but it was fruitless – from the look in Danny's eye, there wasn't anyway he was going to let them get anywhere near his new dishwasher.

"Thanks, but no thanks." He stood from the table, "My ma would always make me fill the dishwasher after a meal, and I've never really grown out of it. There's dessert too, so get ready for it. Montana made an Apple Cobbler. It smells amazing."

"It's my Mom's recipe," she smiled at Danny's compliment.

"You two make quite the pair of hosts," Stella smiled.

"It smells delicious if it's what I can smell?" Mac added, diverting attention from Stella's comment.

"Thanks," Lindsay smiled softly as she passed Danny her plate. Their hands brushed for a second and Stella couldn't help but see the electricity that passed from Lindsay to Danny in the split second.

"Are you sure you don't want a hand, Danny." Stella said as she stood from her place and began collecting the remaining empty plates on the table.

"No, I'm fine thanks Stell."

"I wasn't asking," she offered a wry smile as she followed Danny with the rest of the plates in to his small kitchen area.

Conversation was flowing through the rest of the team easily, giving Stella the opportunity to scrutinise Danny in the way she'd been wanting to all night. It had initially started with Stella's on-going suspicions of her young co-workers. Ever since she and Mac had seen them together at New Years Eve, she couldn't help but think that there was something going on between the two of them, but with no evidence, per-say, she couldn't call them on their budding relationship. If there _was _something going on – they were being nothing but professional about it. There had been no reports of kissing, caresses, rendezvous in the locker room… nada. And while she was impressed with their professionalism, she was beginning to become infuriated. There had to be something going on right under their noses and she wanted to be happy for her co-workers. She didn't know and couldn't understand why they felt the need to hide their relationship. It was a good thing if they were together, wasn't it?

"So much for helpin'," Danny mused, breaking Stella from her train of thoughts. "You're a huge help. Thanks for standing in the middle of the kitchen there, Stella; you couldn't have picked a better spot to stand in so that you'd be right in the way of me doin' the shit I need to do."

"Alright, sarcastic Joe, apologies. I was just thinking about something."

"Oh go on, I'll bite… about what?"

"Just how cute you and Lindsay are together; when are you going to put us out of our misery?"

"There we go," Danny sighed. "I don't know how many times I've gotta tell ya, Stella. We're just friends."

"Hmmm."

"We're friends, Stella."

"Well, you're very cute friends."

"Don't alright?" he warned. "Just leave it."

"I'm just saying, Danny. It's not anything you need to hide. Mac's already said that-"

"Stella, trust me. Nothing's going on."

"If there was though-"

"Nothing is," he said. "If there was, you'd know."

"But… you can't be _just _friends, Danny. That t-shirt you bought her for Christmas; it was so thoughtful and sweet. And you broke up with Cindy just in time for New Years-"

"And?" Danny implored. "Linds and I are just real good friends, Stell. Don't force something that isn't there. Datin' Montana would be weird. She's like my sister, k?"

Stella licked her lips and nodded as she handed Danny an empty glass from her water she had at dinner. "Alright, I'm sorry I said anything." She paused for a moment and looked thoughtfully at Danny.

"What?" he barked.

"I'm just thinking how much you're going to cringe when you think about our conversation a month or two down the line when you're coming to tell me that you and Lindsay are dating; you know, after you've just said that she's like your sister."

"What's the big deal?" Danny sighed. "Why are you so interested in Lindsay and I?"

Stella just smiled, "Because, if you were to get together, I'd be happy for you. You two would make beautiful children."

"Oh get a grip," Danny spat. "We're friends; nothing more. Don't rush out and buy your hat for the wedding, okay?"

"I already have one reserved." She lowered her voice considerably. "You might not see it Danny, but I do. Time will tell."

"You're a pain in the ass, you know that, don't you?"

"Fully aware of the fact," Stella tapped his cheek playfully. "Just go careful, Danny. Don't spend too much time being friends when you can be so much more than just that."

"Alright oh wise one, I think that's enough advice from you tonight, okay?"

"Just think about it, okay?" She warned, "Because when you fight fate, it may decide that you've missed your chance."

"That's quite a fatalistic view, isn't it?"

"From past experiences, Danny." She winked just as she spotted Lindsay rounding the corner into the kitchen area. "Hey kiddo."

"I just wondered whether you needed a hand with anything?" Lindsay said softly. "Which clearly you do... you've taken a while loading the dishwasher." she said as she noticed the empty dishwasher.

"No, we've got it covered." Stella smiled. "Actually we were just talking about some things, weren't we, Danny?"

"Hmm," he agreed. "We were."

"Oh?" Lindsay smiled. "What?"

"Nothing exciting," Stella shot Danny a look. "Just philosophical thoughts about life."

Lindsay glanced between Danny and Stella, clearly confused with their odd behaviour but rather than question it now, she made a mental note to mention it to Danny later on.

"Well anyway," she shrugged off the odd behaviour, "I just came to do a final head count of who wanted dessert, everyone else is ready to go with it; are you two up for it?"

"Definitely," Stella smiled. "Give me the biggest slice going."

* * *

><p>After the conversation with Stella in the kitchen, Danny had distanced himself significantly from Lindsay; he needed to think about what Stella had said to him and where he stood in terms of it. He wasn't sure how he felt about the whole fate deciding that they'd taken too long to get together or whatever the hell Stella had been going on about. They weren't fighting anything; they'd been going with the flow of their relationship- if he could even call it a relationship!<p>

In a nutshell, Stella had made him think about things; which pissed him off. He didn't like thinking about things, because when he did that, he did a good job of talking himself out of whatever it was he'd been fighting for. Except this time, he wasn't sure whether he'd actually be able to talk himself out of Lindsay. She definitely wasn't any type of girl he'd met before. She had so many levels to her and he couldn't help but feel drawn to her; even when he was trying to distance himself.

He watched her as she sat on the couch with Flack; her legs were tucked up underneath her and she was cradling a glass of wine between her two hands. He could tell from her laugh that she was beginning to feel the effects of the wine… and it was little things like that, that told him what he was afraid of… Stella was right. What was he fighting? What was he waiting for? Truth to be told, he was already practically in a relationship with Lindsay and really, he didn't know who they were trying to fool. Themselves probably, because based on the events of tonight, it was obvious that everyone else knew.

Mac had been glancing 'subtly' between both Danny and Lindsay before nodding in Stella's direction. Danny had caught onto their non-verbal communication about an hour ago, and he'd watched them do it three times in the past ten minutes. He could only imagine what it was they were 'talking' about, and he quite frankly didn't want or need to know. Then, Flack had been grilling Lindsay for the past ten minutes about what happened at the damn Laser Questing game. Danny had realised pretty early on in their conversation together that Flack had cottoned onto the fact that the glass of wine in her hand was probably going to make her less likely to keep their story up, Danny could only assume… but all the credit to Lindsay, Danny thought, she was staying tight lipped about their make out session in the game zone. His attempts were proving to be unsuccessful and he was visibly beginning to lose interest. And Adam… well, Adam was too busy sexting his latest girlfriend to notice the unravelling of events going on right under his nose… which was probably a good thing in all honesty.

Yawning, he stretched and covered his mouth to mask the yawn. He didn't want to kick the team from his apartment after a good night, but he was beginning to feel the effects of cooking all day. He was tired, achy and he wanted a good sleep before his shift tomorrow and as much as he enjoyed the company of his co-workers and friends… sometimes they overstayed their welcome just that little bit. When he envisioned himself in bed however, it seemed a little too big for just him. He pursed his lips together as he tried to figure out a justified reason behind why Lindsay would be staying longer than everyone else…

"I'm beginning to feel like I should be in bed," Stella said, as if she could read Danny's mind. "Shall we head off?"

"I probably should," Mac concurred. "It is late after all."

"Yeah, me too." Adam nodded. "I think I… well, places to be," he gestured to his cell-phone.

"I guess that means me too," Flack sighed. "Want a lift, Monroe?"

"Come again?" she cleared her throat.

"Do you want me to take you home?"

"Oh no," She shook her head, casting a quick glance in Danny's direction. "Don't be silly."

"Silly? Uh, your safety isn't silly, Linds."

"It's out of your way. I'll get the subway."

"You won't." Flack laughed in her face. "There's no way I'm lettin' you make your way across town, sorry kiddo." Flack said. "It'll take fifteen minutes maximum, and I'm not taking no for an answer."

Danny opened his mouth to offer a protest but no words came. He offered Lindsay a small shrug and apologetic look before she relented in her resistance and shrugged.

"I guess I'm heading home with you then," she smiled at Flack before widening her eyes in Danny's direction. The overnight bag she'd brought round to his place earlier in the day was sat in the bedroom and was practically screaming from its position in the closet. Ignoring the niggling in the back of her mind, Lindsay stood carefully from the couch and excused herself quietly to the bathroom before they left.

As everyone was gathering their coats and bags, Danny's phone vibrated in his jeans' pocket.

_I couldn't say no, are you mad? _

He smiled and hit reply.

_No_

A second later, his phone vibrated again.

_Do you want me to come back? _

He thought about it for a moment or two. He did genuinely wanted her to come back and spend the night, but he honestly hated the thought of her wasting her time in being driven all the way back to her place in Queens to then make her way back to his apartment on the other side of the city.

_No; don't worry about it. _

He sent it before realising what that must have sounded to her. Coupled with the fact that she was drunk; or at least tipsy, he knew he had to do a little bit of damage control to make it seem better than what it had sounded like.

_I'll come to yours? _

His phone vibrated a moment later.

_Whatever. _

Whatever? He felt a crushing feeling settle in the pit of his stomach. Whatever was never good; he'd learnt that quickly through his time in the dating pool. Whatever, up to you and I'm fine were the three phrases of doom. He knew that there was a very particular answer in response to those three phrases and he had to tread extremely lightly in order to really prevent an argument before it happened.

_I'll come to you. _He replied with.

A second later: _Don't bother. _

Fuck, he thought, he must have trodden too hard on the ground around them.

"Monroe?" Flack called out. "Hurry up, kiddo… sometime today!"

Lindsay emerged from the bathroom instantly, her phone in her hand with a look of thunder plastered across her face. Clearly she was unhappy with him; for whatever reason why. He'd ultimately decided as soon as she'd replied that he wasn't to bother heading to her place that it was a trick and he most definitely needed to get his ass round to her place and do some serious damage control – whatever the reason behind her getting angry. Even if he was in the right, act first and question later, he thought.

"Whoa, what's got your panties in a twist?" Flack smirked.

"Don't." she warned him simply as she grabbed her bag and coat; all the while glaring at Danny with the look of thunder.

As the rest of the team thanked him for his hospitality and beautiful dinner, Danny's eyes focused solely on Lindsay. He'd seen Lindsay when she was happy, frustrated, excited, content... angry even. But he'd never seen her angry with him. And it unnerved him. He moved towards her to hug her goodbye, just like he had with the rest of the team and the look that she shot him told him under no circumstances was he going to hug her. Instead, she opened up the door and headed out into the hallway without saying a word.

"I guess that's our cue to leave; she seems pissed at you, Danny." Flack commented. "Kinda weird considering you two haven't spoken in the last half hour…"

"Perhaps you can ask her." Danny commented offhandedly. "Like you said, we haven't spoken in the last half hour; I doubt she's pissed at me."

"Hmm, well it's amazing what women can find to be pissed off with," Flack smirked. "Good luck with that."

Danny said nothing as he shut the door to Flack's parting comment. With the silence of the apartment, Danny knew full well that he had some damage control to be getting on with.

* * *

><p>Throwing her bag down in the hallway, Lindsay kicked the door shut and squeezed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. Her headache was already setting in and she definitely wasn't looking forward to her hangover in the morning. Although she'd sobered up quite considerably on the drive home, she knew that she'd consumed a lot of wine at Danny's… and beer; meaning she'd mixed her drinks, which would leave her with a brutal hangover.<p>

The wine as a contributing factor had her almost certain that in any other instance; she wouldn't be as royally pissed off at Danny as she was right now. But well… he'd pissed her off. She wasn't angry at him for being distant with her; nor was she angry about him saying not to bother going round after Flack had dropped her off; it was more of the fact that he obviously cared about whatever it was Stella had said to him. Whatever it had been had been enough for him to distance himself and she was surprised that such a passing comment could have such a huge affect on him.

The sad thing was, it was beginning to make her think whether he was the person that she'd been getting to know. It was all well and good them getting to know each other, but what really mattered was how they acted in front of the people that they cared about… and the fact that Danny had backed off made her question both her feelings and his. If it was that easy to back off, what were they doing exactly? Other than wasting their time of course?

She sighed as she settled on the couch after getting a glass of water and aspirin from the kitchen. She wasn't _this_ person that questioned things so much and got aggravated over things like this. So what if Danny wanted to completely disregard her all night? That didn't mean she couldn't have a good time… so why was it then, that the second he moved away from her on the couch and settled in an arm chair did she feel like she'd taken a huge blow to the gut.

She stared at a picture she'd recently framed of the both of them from the Christmas day they'd shared at Danny's parents. It had been after Cindy left and they'd given up caring for the day. She stood and turned the picture over with a huge thump as it hit the wood of her wall unit. She didn't want to acknowledge the fact that she really, really cared for Danny right now. She didn't even like him all that much right now… She decided against staying up for the rest of the night, dwelling on things that she couldn't change between them, so instead she reached for her glass of water, turned on her heel and headed off for her lonely bedroom. Just as her hand shoved open the door however, her buzzer sounded; indicating somebody's arrival downstairs.

And she knew exactly who that somebody was. Doubling back on herself, she headed for the front door. "What are you doing here." She growled down the intercom. "I told you not to bother."

"Well, I felt like I needed to… I wanted to."

"I don't want you here," She scoffed. "Go home, Danny."

"No." he said determined, "Sorry Linds, I ain't goin' till you let me in. I'll just keep my finger on the buzzer till you do." And as if to prove his point, all she could hear was the annoying, abrupt sound of the buzzer.

"Alright, alright," she said almost instantly before hitting the entrance button that allowed him into the building. She opened up the door and set herself down on the couch again.

She kept her eyes on the door and sighed heavily when she saw him stood in the doorway with her overnight bag slung over his shoulder, and his clutched in his hand. He returned the sigh as his eyes fell on her. Although she hadn't realised, a few stray tears were slipping down her cheeks.

"This is so stupid," she scowled at herself as he shut and locked her front door. "Why do I even care?"

Silently, he dropped both her bag and his before closing the distance between them and sat himself on the couch next to her. He wasted no time in wrapping her up in his arms despite her protests to his efforts.

"I don't even know why it's such a big deal to me," She informed him once she relented after few seconds of pushing him away. "It's not as if we're actually in a relationship, is it? We're just friends."

"I think we both know we're more than that."

"After tonight, I'd go with a no on that one, Danny."

"Listen Linds, I know I'm insensitive; tonight really proves that. And because of that, I'm gonna test you… not to mention I'm a pain in the ass."

"I'm beginning to realise that," she muttered.

"I also know that I don't make shit easy for you. If it was the other way round, I know I couldn't do what you do, Linds."

"You're talking as if we've been in a relationship for months Danny; we're just friends going with the flow. You don't have to justify anything to me. I'm just your friend, remember?"

"You're not though," he said softly, "because you're so much more than that."

"I'm not," she shook her head. "You told me everything I needed to know at dinner."

"What did I tell you at dinner?" He raised his eyebrows.

"That when it's just us, it's okay to be us, but when we're in front of our friends, you don't feel comfortable being near me, and that's fine. I can only try to understand; it's not easy but I get it," she paused for a moment before shaking her head, "You know what, no… I just don't understand."

"Understand what?"

"I don't understand why you distanced yourself from me." she whispered.

"I was being ridiculous." He said, "Stella said some stuff that got me thinking and I just needed a bit of time to sort things out in my head."

"Like what?"

"Just stuff."

"What stuff?" Lindsay pushed.

Danny sighed, "I don't know, Linds; just things."

"Don't you think I deserve to know those _things?" _She implored. "Considering those _things _are about me!"

"Yeah, you probably do, but they aren't going to be what you expect."

"And what am I expecting?"

"Negative stuff," he said with raised eyebrows. Her face tightened and she twisted her lips in confusion. "Judging from your reaction, I'm right?" he paused.

"Yeah," she nodded as she began to relax a little in his arms. "What else would make you distance yourself from me?"

"She knows, Linds." Upon Lindsay's face of terror, he held a finger to her lips to silence her from bombarding him with questions. "She doesn't know for sure, but she has a feeling that something is going on. I think everyone knew before we knew ourselves to be honest. She tugged me to the side and basically told me not to waste my time with you pretending that we're just friends when we can be so much more than that."

"No she didn't," Lindsay scoffed.

"I'll bet you a hundred dollars she did," Danny told her as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "She said that if we fight fate for too long, it might decide that we've missed our chance at being together."

"That's a fatalistic view," Lindsay scoffed.

"That's exactly what I said!" Danny implored. "I told her that too… and that was when you came in. So it wasn't anything bad, Linds. It was just something that I needed to think about."

"Why did you need to think about it though?"

"Because I really care for you and I can't help but wonder whether Stella's right. Why waste our time in pretending that we're friends when we can be more than that? What are we achieving in pretending otherwise? I really, really care for you Linds, and the time I spent tonight watching you interact with everyone made me realise that I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. I hope that stands for something."

"I guess it does," she sighed. "I just don't know what to do with it. You really upset me Danny, it felt like you'd dropped me and then thrown a tonne of bricks over me just to rub salt in the wounds."

"I didn't mean to make you feel like that, Linds." He said. "I just needed some time to get my shit together and realise that maybe we could try something. Something official."

"Official?" she whispered.

"Official between us I mean; no more friends crap; we both know we're more than friends."

"Are we?"

"Yeah," Danny nodded. "I think we are." He paused for a moment. "I'm telling you now, Linds. I'm gonna be hard to love."

"Who says I'll fall in love with you?" She asked with a sleepy yawn.

"Call it an instinct?" he suggested as he squeezed her before hooking one of his arms through her legs and the other around her shoulders. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

She nestled her head on his chest as he carried her drunken self through the apartment. After pulling back the covers and placing her on the bed, he carefully undressed her. Then, he headed over to her dresser and found one of his gym shirts. Taking a moment to himself, he smiled proudly as he marvelled at how good she looked in his clothes. After deciding that she was set for the night, he pulled her comforter over her and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'm goin' home," he whispered. "I'll call you tomorrow."

He turned on his heel and moved to switch her lamp off, when he felt a hand on his arm.

"Don't go," she whispered.

"I thought you were asleep," he smirked as he saw her peel one eye open.

"I know," she offered him a smile. "But I want you to stay."

He pursed his lips together as he considered it for a moment. He nodded to himself and disappeared out of the bedroom. Lindsay sighed happily as the living room light was switched off. She opened her eyes just in time to see him stood in the door way, tugging his shirt over his head and dropping it on the floor next to him. His jeans soon followed along with his other items of clothing until he was left only in his boxers. He rounded the side of the bed and slipped under the covers.

"Now, think yourself lucky," he whispered as she shuffled towards him and snuggled into his arms. "I don't usually stay the night at my girlfriend's apartment."

She desperately tried to keep her eyes open. "Let's try that one more time; what am I?"

"You're my girlfriend." He whispered against her hair. "Go to sleep, I'll wake you up tomorrow."

The smile that tugged at her lips in that moment was still evident on her lips when he woke her up the next morning.

* * *

><p><strong>annnnnd there we go. Blame Fred, I was going to keep this totally canon and then he had to throw in the whole girlfriend line. the little romantic thing. but, I have a plan... so maybe, just maybe he and I can agree to disagree. Let me know what you thought though? :) Thanks for reading! <strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**It seems like Fred is on a roll with this; we're venturing into legit season 2 territory now and I must say, these are some of my all time favourite episodes. The latter half of season 2 was just so emotionally charged, it really makes me fall in love with the team more so every time I watch. I must say, I've kind of made it difficult for myself having DL dating now, buttt, I was watching RSRD when doing some research and well, it could have happened. **

**Anyway, I'm rambling. Do let me know what you think of these - hope you enjoy the next few chapters. They're going to be... emotionally charged, shall we say? **

**Huge thank you to those of you who reviewed last chapter. Your comments were lovely and I really appreciate them! :) **Meggie, GigglesforCSI, brendanakai, 18lzytwner and afrozenheart412.

* * *

><p>Sipping her hot chocolate, Lindsay giggled as she crossed her ankles on the high stool. "I know <em>that,<em>" she implored. "I just think that given the opportunity, I could have."

"Could have been a professional tennis player?" Danny scoffed. "Sure thing, _Montana." _He teased, drawling her name out. "I think we both know that there's no other career out there for you other than bein' a CSI. You're too cute to be a tennis player anyway."

"Maybe," she shrugged with a small smile at his inadvertent compliment. "Do you think I'm a good one?"

"A good CSI?" he asked for confirmation to which she nodded. "Sure. I think you've got a lot to learn… but you're amazin' at what you do. I think between us we've got the whole package."

"What do you mean?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, I like to think of myself as street smart," he winked as she offered him a giggle in response. "And I think it's safe to say that your knowledge in general is out of this world… so between us, we make a good team."

She smiled brightly at him. It had been about a week since he'd stayed the night at her apartment after their mini argument; and things had been going well for them. They realised that they were simply wasting time in not enjoying each other. Denying each other of what they were was just plain stupid; so instead of suppressing their feelings, they had embraced them. And so far, it had worked well for them.

"This is nice," Danny said softly as he took her hand and briefly kissed her fingertips before lacing his fingers through hers'.

Offering a smile in response, Lindsay could feel a blush taking over her cheeks. "Yeah, it is."

"It doesn't hurt that we don't have Stella's beady eyes watching us either."

"I think she had a date with Frankie tonight," Lindsay said as she ran her thumb over Danny's hand, "She left on time and was working her cleavage with a red blouse she bought last week."

"When does Stella not work her cleavage?"

"Danny!" Lindsay scolded. "That's disgusting."

"You said it first," he reminded her with a wink.

"Have you seen much of Louie?" she asked, changing the direction of the conversation. "You mentioned about him calling last week?"

"Yeah." Danny hung his head slightly. "I… It's a long story."

"Has something happened?"

"Well no, not exactly." Danny shook his head. "He just seems off… he's actin' real strange Linds; it feels like he's hiding something, ya know?"

"Yeah," Lindsay nodded. "Do you think it's something to worry about it?"

"With Louie?" Danny paused. "Probably. He usually gets himself into shit that I have to bail him out of; it's not exactly the best for our shitty relationship. That's for sure."

"Things aren't any better?"

"There's a lot of stuff hanging in the air that I've got issues with. I should probably just tell him, ya'know? But sometimes I just figure what's the point? He's happy, I'm better off not having to bail him out of the stupid shit he does. It's probably better for all involved."

"You don't believe that," Lindsay said softly.

"I know," Danny nodded. "But it's easier to stomach if I tell myself that."

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing," Danny shrugged. "There's nothing I can do. I'm not risking the job that I love just 'cause he's working with dodgy dealin's. I just feel sorry for my Ma. She's gotta wear all of this crap on her shoulders."

"She doesn't have to."

"I said that too." Danny smiled. "Apparently she does, it's in her contract as a mother. Plus, you know my Ma, she's genetically programmed to shove her nose in where it's not wanted."

"It's only because she cares," Lindsay smiled. "It must be hard to be a Mom, always worrying about your kids. Taking their problems and issues on your shoulders… I guess I haven't got those instincts yet."

"And I have? I think it comes with age… and when you know, you actually have a kid." he offered her a smile before pausing for a moment. "Weren't you off the clock about two hours ago?" Danny furrowed his brow.

Lindsay glanced down at her watch which read two-am. "Crap," she sighed heavily. "It's a good job I'm not in till eleven tomorrow, isn't it?" she mused as she squeezed his hand. "I must have gotten distracted; I can't imagine what with… "

"I'm a bad influence," he winked, any other thoughts he was going to share was cut short when his phone buzzed on the table next to his elbow. "Flack," he said as a way of explanation.

"What does he want?" Lindsay asked as she let go of his hand so he could reach for his phone as she finished off her hot chocolate.

"The asshole's going to the Giant's stadium with Mac. He's tryin' to rub it in my face I think."

"Bit late to catch a game, isn't it?" Lindsay joked.

"Funny, Montana." He winked. "Nah, apparently Mac's got a lead on a cold case so they're going to see if they can get Jersey to cooperate with their investigation."

Lindsay pursed her lips together. "Am I keeping you from stuff you need to be doing?"

"Nah," he shook his head. "I only got paperwork to do until a call comes in. You're fine."

"Good," she smiled as she set her feet on his stool. Just as he tangled his feet in hers', his beeper sounded.

He sighed heavily. "I spoke too soon,"

"You have to go?"

"'fraid so," he sighed. "Homicide; want me to drop you off at home?"

Lindsay shook her head. "No, that's okay. I'll just get the subway. Thanks though."

"I'm not sure whether I like you doing that at two-am."

"Do you have much choice? You've got a scene you need to be at. I'll be fine. I'll text you when I'm home."

"Suppose that's gonna have to do, isn't it?" he winked as he stood and kissed her on the cheek. "We still on for dinner tomorrow night?"

She nodded and smiled. "I'm excited; you've never experienced my cooking before, have you?"

"If it's anything like your Sweet Potatoes you made at Christmas, I think I'll be just fine," He offered her a knowing smile and turned on his heel to go and grab his kit and make his way to the scene. "Make sure you call me or text when you're tucked up in bed all safe and sound, k? G'night Montana."

"Night Danny," she smiled as she too stood from the table and moved their cups and Danny's plate to the dishwasher. Her eyes followed him through the glass walls before he disappeared out of sight. Although she would never admit it to him, she was quickly falling for Danny. The insights he'd just given her to his life and Louie was quite a significant shift in their relationship. She was beginning to realise how much Danny genuinely trusted her with his baggage that he had. And the fact that he was willing to share intimate details of his life with her was making her more open to the idea of sharing her's. It'd take a long, long time to get to the place where actually contemplated telling him… but she could see it happening at some point.

And if she did, he would be the very first person she willingly told. And if she was honest with herself, it was a prospect that didn't scare her like she thought it would.

And that had to stand for something.

* * *

><p>Going through the evidence he'd collected at the scene, Danny yawned before glancing at his watch. Five-am it was… with no foreseeable end in sight. He had no idea who could have killed his latest victim… other than maybe a jealous ex boyfriend or something along those lines. It was most definitely a crime of passion. That much he knew. Other than that, he was particularly screwed. Deciding that it was time for a coffee break, he scooted his chair back from the layout table and placed his photographs back in the box. A short break would give him a fresher head to maybe see the evidence in a new light.<p>

He glanced down at his phone before picking it up from where it had sat on the tabletop. Lindsay was probably tucked up nicely in bed right now, doing her little snore like she usually did while stealing all of the covers from his newly adopted side of the bed. Although he was trying not to get too attached, he was finding it considerably hard. She was under his skin and she'd taken his heart by storm. He knew that he didn't love her and he didn't really know whether he'd have a time frame on when it would be the time to tell her that he did in fact love her, but he could see it in the future. Somewhere down the line at least. He felt very strongly about her and it was increasing by the day. The little things about her were just enchanting him and he'd never really felt such a draw to someone before. But then again, he'd never been with a country girl before. Lindsay was something different, something special.

Smiling to himself, he made a mental note of texting her a little 'Good Morning' message around the time she'd be waking up; it would definitely give him some brownie points and it was certain that she'd be walking around with a smile on her face for a good part of the day because of it.

He turned his gaze to Mac's office and sighed heavily. He'd seen Mac come off the elevators about ten minutes ago and go straight to his office. Mac had sat down and rubbed his eyes with the palm of both his hands before opening up a case file that sat on his desk. If Mac was showing weakness, Danny thought, then the case must be a tough one. One to which Danny was glad he wasn't working on. Although he highly doubted it, the Giants' stadium was somewhere that Louie used to screw around… and if it had anything to do with that, Danny wanted nothing to do with it. Nothing at all. Stretching the muscles in his back, Danny began his little journey to the break room, at the same time that Mac had stepped out of his office.

"Danny, can I talk to you for a minute?" His boss asked, holding a photograph in his hand.

Licking his lips, Danny met Mac half way. "What's up, Mac?"

"Salvadore Zabo, you know him?" He offered the picture to Danny for him to look at.

"Zabo? Yeah yeah, we grew up in the same neighbourhood."

"He was a Tanglewood Boy." Mac stated as opposed to asking Danny.

"He was the last time I heard; my brother Louie knew him better though."

"Why do you think his tattoo was lasered off?"

"Maybe he wanted out? Maybe he got tossed out?" Danny suggested. "Why?"

"He called my office, confessing to a murder-"

It was in that moment that Danny knew that Louie had fucked up. Danny wasn't stupid and he could easily put the pieces of this forming puzzle together. Zabo had obviously spoken to Louie in a major melt down about wanting to confess to whatever it was that they'd done. Louie would have undoubtedly talked him out of it – resulting in Zabo revealing everything before taking his life. Danny was willing to bet that because of that, Louie was now freaking out about whatever had gone down that night. The Giants' stadium obviously was where they tossed the body… and a headache was forming at the mere thought of what turmoil his mother and father would go through if they found all this out. There had been a time not so long ago where Danny would have banished all thoughts about Louie potentially taking someone else's life, but as it stood now, he would put nothing past his brother when it came to his meddling in the Tanglewood gang. Realising that Mac was still talking, Danny offered him the expected responses and tried to react appropriately to Mac's instructions, despite his mind being elsewhere.

"-I don't want you anywhere near this."

Danny answered with a conviction that he wanted nothing to do with the case… because God knew that he didn't. He definitely didn't want to be the person being responsible for finding evidence that implemented his brother as an accessory to murder… or worse.

No, standing on the sidelines and minding his own business was just good enough for him.

* * *

><p>Humming a soft melody from an unrecognisable song she'd heard on the radio while she was doing her hair for work, Lindsay found herself lost in a web of thoughts. She was compiling a list of things that she needed to buy for dinner with Danny; she needed to clean her apartment… desperately. She had to run by the bank, pick up her dry cleaning and also needed to stop by the post office.<p>

Then of course in the midst of all of her thoughts, there was Danny. Although she'd not been able to find him since her shift started, the text that he'd sent her earlier that morning had given her something to smile about. And just as her smile from his text was wearing off she'd gotten into work and there had been a bowl on the countertop of the break room with a small packet sat inside with her name on. Confused, she'd moved closer before she realised what it was. Although it was nearly eleven o'clock – and way past her breakfast time, she couldn't help but laugh. Danny had been making fun of her the week earlier about her fondness for Grits – and he'd almost lost it when he found the packets she squirrelled away in her pantry. She'd argued that they were quick and easy, but he'd refused to let up on his teasing. She had thought when he'd not mentioned it for a few days, he'd let it go, but obviously not.

She sighed heavily as she grabbed her next piece of evidence. She'd been assigned the case with Mac and Hawkes and as a result, she'd been buried in a sea of analysis and interpretation of data… so much so, she hadn't even seen him passing in the hallway, but she figured that with the case that he'd been delegated with Stella last night; he was probably wrapped up in that. Which was what they were here to do, after all.

Hearing her results from a cigarette butt collect on the printer tray, Lindsay stood from her seat and grabbed them before returning to her seat. At a first glance, she felt her heart drop. Something wasn't right; she blinked before re-reading the results. Danny? It couldn't be, could it? She could feel her heart sink further in her chest. The Danny she knew wouldn't ever be directly involved in something like _this. _She'd heard from Mac how brutal the killing was. She'd seen the pictures. It was done in cold blood with no remorse. Mac had also told her about Salvadore Zabo and how he'd crumbled on the phone. The Danny she knew would be incapable to carry around such a burden while serving and protecting the city every day like he had for the past ten years. He took his neighbour's kid out once a week to give her a break and make sure he had a positive male model in his life. He volunteered at the YMCA once a week too. He just… no. Somewhere along the line, something wasn't right. Although she hadn't known him for long, she knew that Danny wasn't this person.

Turning over the sheet to limit the amount of eyes that saw his name on the piece of paper, she began retesting the cigarette butt. Maybe he'd… touched the cotton swab she'd used. Or the tweezers. Or the test-tube. She couldn't be positive… but there was just no way Danny's DNA was on that cigarette butt. It had to be wrong.

She took a deep breath as a thought crossed her mind; what if it wasn't? She didn't really know what to do if his name came out again. Did she tell him first? Did she tell Mac? She knew in reality her answer was to tell Mac – he was her boss and superior and it was protocol. But… Danny was… he meant a lot to her. And she wasn't too sure whether she could go behind his back like that. He deserved the opportunity to go to Mac himself; regardless of the implications for herself.

Hearing the results settle on the printer tray, she stood once again and sighed heavily as she read the same name on the paper. Getting her beeper out, she knew exactly what she needed to do. Punching in 911, she grabbed both set of results and made her way to the second floor walkway to meet Danny.

* * *

><p>"What is it Montana, you beeped me 911. You alright?"<p>

She could do nothing but tell him the truth. "Yeah, the DNA sample from the cigarette we found in the end zone came back to an internal control sample."

"That means the smoker works in the lab? How can that be?"

Handing the piece of paper to him, she could feel the anxiety flutter in her stomach.

"Have you told anyone else about this?"

The professionalism in his voice told her that he'd shut down emotionally. She could tell that he knew this was bad; and she could see the terror and disappointment in his eyes. Not at her, she sensed but more himself. Himself and Louie of course.

"No, just you," She said quietly. Although internally she was scared of the repercussions she faced for breaking protocol, right now it didn't matter to her. As he turned and walked away from her, his shoulders tense, the true severity of the situation hit her square in the chest.

Whatever it was that was about to happen wasn't good.

* * *

><p><strong>Dun dun dun! I know you all know how this ends but I thought I'd draw it out anyway because Fred and I were getting a little carried away with it all. Hope you guys are enjoying this blast from the past. I'd love to know what you think. Thanks for reading! :) <strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi guys! It seems like Fred is quite enjoying the idea of going between season 2 in this story and season 5 in The Pieces That Fit Together... trust me, he is having a field day between the two stories. I left you guys on a little bit of a cliffhanger last chapter... I mean you all know what happens in the end of RSRD but hey ho! **

**Also, I apologise in advance if there are a few iiii in the middle of the story. Ever since my... housemate effed around with my laptop, it hasn't really been the same and right now, it's like the 'i' button is stuck and random 'i's keep popping up, so you'll have to excuse me. I've done my best to delete them all, biut there might be a sneaky one in there somewhere. **

**Now finally, you giuys have given me such lovely feedback so far for this story. I really appreciate it (so does Fred!) It's always nice to hear reader's opinions and thoughts on chapters. So, thanks are due to: **Elja, Megan Glass the third (really? lolol), afrozenheart412, brendanakai, dannyandlindsayforeva, Gigglesforcsi and webdlfan.** It's much appreciated guys! **

**So, now that is all done, shall we see how deep Danny is?**

* * *

><p>After splashing water on his face in the locker room, Danny exhaled heavily as he knew what he needed to do. He had no other choice but to tell Mac what was happening. He hated the feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach, but he knew that he was going to have to go and admit that the risk Mac had taken in hiring him had backfired and once again; he had screwed up.<p>

Deep down he loved his brother, but sometimes he just wanted to strangle him. He couldn't understand why Louie had gotten so wrapped up in Tanglewood. He'd watched him for years running around with the likes of Sonny Sassone and Danny had never been able to understand the appeal. He'd gone on a ride along to Atlantic City once, and once had been enough to tell him it wasn't something he wanted to do ever again. Hell, they hadn't even made it to Atlantic City that night… No, the whole gang, brotherhood scene wasn't for him, he'd thought. The NYPD had offered him a brotherhood but of a different kind. There was a respect, appreciation and adoration for his 'brothers'. Not a constant suspicion and feeling of having to look over your shoulder for the next 'brother' to stab you in the back like he was sure that Louie battled with, probably on a daily basis.

He took a deep breath as he headed inside Mac's office. Almost instantly, and even though Mac had no idea of what Danny was about to admit, he could sense Mac's disappointment. It would be naïve of Danny to believe that Mac was absolutely clueless about what Danny was going to tell him. There was, after all, a reason why Mac was the head of the crime lab; the man knew things that just didn't seem feasibly possible. And that was why Danny felt the undeniable disappointment in Mac's eyes, and as a result, Danny couldn't help but lower his head, as if he was being scolded by a parent.

Although he tried to keep his voice steady as he relayed Lindsay's results, he could hear the hitch in his accent. He was scared – and rightfully so, he figured. He knew shit was bad. And when Mac mentioned 'testimony', Danny knew that things were going from bad to worse. Testimony? A testimony? Danny's heart sank as he realised that the look that he'd seen in Mac's eyes wasn't disappointment. Disappointment was something that he could have dealt with. He'd unfortunately become an expert in letting Mac down. But the look in Mac's eyes was something more... dangerous. Mac was going on the boss approach and Danny knew that if he was going to make it through to the other side, the last thing he needed was a boss.

"I need... I need a friend all right? I'm in big trouble here." He pleaded with Mac.

As Danny proceeded to explain the one night he'd ran with Louie and the other morons that completed Tanglewood, he couldn't help but feel self hate running through his veins. He'd always gone on his instincts, and even though Louie had promised he'd take Danny to Atlantic City, deep down Danny had known otherwise. Atlantic City had never been on the agenda. Or maybe it had been until something else had come up.

As he recalled the tale in his mind for Mac, he could remember the burning in the pit of his stomach right before be stuck up for the poor kid that had stupidly crossed Sonny. And then it happened… the moment that changed his perception of Louie forever. When Louie had hit him in the face and pushed him into a heap on the floor, all of the years of idolising his brother and looking up to him seemed to dissipate into thin air. In that moment, as far as he was concerned, he and Louie were through. In the days, weeks and months after that moment, Danny had done everything in his power to distance himself from his brother. He'd given him the cold shoulder, shunned him, didn't turn up to plans and eventually Louie stopped asking him to do well… anything. Which in reflection of events unfolding now, it was probably for the best.

He tried wracking his brains for the explanation behind that damn cigarette butt implicating him in the murder and the only response he could offer to Mac was that he didn't know. He knew that there was an explanation somewhere; he just didn't know how it all connected.

He was just going to have to wait and see what happened.

* * *

><p>Lindsay knew that there were curious voices all around her, speculating about Danny's latest 'fuck up'. She'd heard whispers, of "Who did Messer shoot now?" and "I said it was only a matter of time before Danny screwed up like Aiden." Others inquired about what had happened before running off to other members of the lab. And some, although a very small number, didn't bat an eyelid.<p>

If Lindsay was completely honest, she would have loved to be given the opportunity to speculate rather than know what she did in this moment in time. Speculating gave her the opportunity to make the situation a lot worse in her mind, so when she found out the real happenings, it wouldn't seem as bad. Knowing what she did know however, left her feeling sick to her stomach the thought of the repercussions and the potential outcomes for Danny. She was glad that she had been the one to process the cigarette butt; it meant that the circle of people that knew about the real facts and happenings was kept to a minimum – which was good. Speculation and gossip was something that every workplace encountered. As was rumours. And with rumours, people add their own little details to the story so that eventually it turns out like Chinese whispers. And that was honestly the last thing Lindsay wanted for Danny.

Actually, the last thing she wanted was for this to be real. She was hoping and praying that she'd wake up from her nightmare soon and she could laugh about it with Danny over coffee at some point during their shift. But, no matter how hard she wished… it just wasn't coming true and she had to face the fact that this was becoming a reality that Danny and the rest of the team had to deal with.

"Hello… earth to Monroe?"

"Huh?" Lindsay blinked away from where Danny stood in Mac's office with the duty captain.

"Are you back with us now?" Flack offered her a weak smile. "We were getting worried about you for a minute there when you didn't answer. Do you know what's happened?" Flack repeated as he joined Lindsay, Adam and Hawkes as they stared through the glass of Mac's office. "Why's he handing his piece in?"

"I-uh- I don't know."

"You can't lie for shit, Monroe." Flack informed her, "What did he do?"

"He didn't do anything," she defended him instantly, trying to keep her voice as quiet as humanely possible. "It's just... I don't know Flack, ask him yourself."

"Linds," Adam laid a hand on her arm, "It'll be okay."

"How do you know that?" she barked. "You can't say that; he's in a lot of trouble, Adam."

Casting a glance towards a hurt Adam, Hawkes stepped forwards and laid a hand on Lindsay's arm. "Listen okay," Hawkes paused. "It's just protocol; innocent until proven guilty here, alright? We've just gotta make sure we do everything we can to help him. That means keeping our heads screwed on tight and our emotions bottled up for the time being okay… no matter how hard that may be. I know you're close with him Lindsay, probably closer than the rest of us; so that means you're going to be extra strong here, because although he wouldn't admit it, he really needs you right now."

Hawkes broke off as Danny glanced towards Lindsay. Their eyes met and she sighed heavily, her eyes apologising for him being in such a situation.

"See," Hawkes said softly. "He looked right at you then for comfort and reassurance. He needs you Lindsay. Not Flack or I, not Adam, but you. Now the question is; can you be there for him?"

"Of course!" she implored.

"Alright then," Hawkes nodded. "Put on your brave face, stand up tall and prepare yourself for a seriously crappy day, okay?" iiii

"It'll be okay," Lindsay said lamely as she turned to face Danny. He turned to face her once again. It was only for a brief second however and she could feel her heart being crushed as he turned away from her.

All she could hope for was that they found the missing piece to the puzzle that would let Danny off the hook that he'd been unfairly placed upon.

* * *

><p>Throwing a pen in frustration, Danny growled as he felt his head pound. A headache had hit him hours ago and now… it was in it's full force. He wanted to just go home and wait for this thunder storm to pass, but he knew fine well that if he disappeared from sight, it was like he had something to hide, when really, it was quite the opposite; he had nothing to hide; hence him still sitting at his desk.<p>

He was going insane. He hadn't seen any of the team for a good three hours now. He was running on empty, both physically and emotionally. He'd not really had much time to think about Lindsay until this point, but his insides twisted as he thought about what all of this would mean for her. He hadn't even thought about their exchange until he'd seen a picture of her on his desk. Granted the rest of the team was in the picture with them… but she was wrapped around him, smiling brightly with her Whitesnake t-shirt on that he'd bought her for Christmas. It was definitely well loved and a well informed purchase on his part. It was clear she adored it with the sheer amount of times she'd worn it since he'd given it to her. It was a safe bet that she would wear it to their events after work; granted it wasn't in the laundry basket. In fact, he was willing to bet that the pale pink colour was becoming to be slightly faded from the amount of times it had been through the washing and drying process. He smiled at the teasing they'd endured from their friends as a result of the damn t-shirt; he'd never would have guessed that such a simple gesture would still fuel inquiries and teasing months after he'd given the damn thing to Lindsay.

The distraction in the form of Lindsay had settled his nerves and fears for a few moments before the feeling of dread settled back in his stomach. He sighed heavily and focused his eyes back onto the case-file sat in front of him, waiting for his attention.

"You look like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders," a voice said as two hands settled on his shoulders and squeezed them. "Hey,"

"Hey Linds." He turned and offered her a smile. To his depressed delight, he saw two cups of coffee in her hand.

"I got you a coffee," She said softly. "I know it's not much, but-"

"Thanks, Montana." He smiled as he accepted it from her. "Anything's better than that crap over there," he gestured to the coffee machine. "It was cold when I got a cup an hour ago so I dread to think what it's like now."

"How are you doing?" she asked with a frown.

"I'm alright," he said. "I was just thinkin' about you actually; about you and the t-shirt I got you for Christmas."

"Danny, this is me you're talking to," she raised her eyebrows at his shrugged off response. "How are you? Honestly..."

"Honestly? I'm not doing too good Montana. This ain't a good feelin'."

"Mac will fix this, Danny. You heard what he said. He believes you. You have nothing to hide. Everything's going to be fine."

He looked at her for a prolonged moment. "I know you don't believe that yourself."

"I do," she said confidently. "I do believe it. I'm just scared for you."

"Me too, Montana," he sighed. "Me too."

"I do think Mac will fix this though," she said again. "I do, Danny."

"I ain't so sure about that you know, Linds. I got this feeling."

She sighed heavily and squeezed his arm, "Listen, I've gotta get back to work but I thought you could do with a coffee. I just wish there was more I could say or do to help. I don't feel like I'm being much support right now."

"There's nothing much you can do to be honest, Linds; it's outta our hands. If I'm totally honest with you Linds, you did everything I needed you to do this morning… I know I didn't say it then, but thanks for coming to me first. I know that wasn't easy for you. Are you gonna get into trouble for that?"

She shrugged it off, but the pink of her cheeks told him she wasn't telling him everything.

"Linds…"

"It's nothing you need to worry about," she said as a way of explanation. "It was my decision and I'd make it ten times over. We're in this together, Danny." She said softly.

"Yeah well, I appreciate it Linds," he said as he leant towards her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "It made things a lot better for me I think… you know, the results coming from me."

"I thought that," she nodded. "Well, I hoped that anyway."

He offered her a smile before sighing heavily. "And now it's just a waiting game."

"Keep your chin up," she nudged his chin upwards. "This will sort itself out, Danny. You're going to come out of this stronger." She paused for a moment. "And who knows, it might even fix yours and Louie's relationship."

He sighed heavily, "I don't know about that. Maybe though,"

"If you want it to." She said softly, "Only if you want it to though."

"I don't know what I want anymore."

Sighing heavily, she stood from her seat and squeezed Danny's shoulder. "I better get back."

"Yeah," he sighed. "Thanks for this," he gestured to the coffee. "-for everything actually; I appreciate it."

"I'll see you later," she said softly. As she turned on her heel towards the exit, she cast one last look at Danny. She saw him reach for his phone and read the message he must have just received. She was about to turn and walk out of the precinct before he stood abruptly and rushed out of the other exit with his jacket half on.

She swallowed and let out a nervous sigh. Whatever message he'd just received wasn't good and she just hoped and prayed that he didn't get himself into any more trouble.

* * *

><p>The walk from the precinct to the lab gave her a good amount of time to clear her head. The night was crisp and chilly, but it was just the temperature she liked. It was cold enough to be cold, but not too cold that she couldn't feel her fingers.<p>

Her parting with Danny really didn't sit right with her. There was a look on his face that left her uncomfortable. Something bad had happened and it wasn't going to end well. She trusted Danny not to go and involve himself… she really did. But she also didn't know what that message said. She knew first hand that grief could do weird things to people. What if something had happened to Louie? She hoped he wouldn't, but there was a chance that Danny could go looking for Sonny Sassone. She knew for a fact that if she knew that and didn't say anything and something bad happened to Danny, she'd never forgive herself.

With that in mind, she took a deep breath and headed into the layout room where Mac was standing over the table.

"Mac can I talk to you for a… Oh god, it smells of smoke in here."

"Sorry, I was... Well, doing an experiment."

"Without me?" She gasped playfully; the first bit of humour she'd felt over the course of the day.

He offered her a smile before raising his eyebrows. "You were saying?"

"I'm really worried about Danny... "She paused for a moment. "I just went to the precinct to give him a cup of coffee and as I was leaving, he got a message and took off. He seemed really, really upset and worried, Mac. I'm worried he's going to get himself into something he can't get himself out of."

She glanced down momentarily to the cigarette that sat on the layout table. "You know, I'm sick of the sight of those," she commented quietly. "They've brought nothing but trouble."

"Maybe they have, except this one," Mac said cryptically. "Lindsay, how long ago did you see Danny rush off?"

"About 20 minutes ago." She shrugged. "Why? Do you think he's in some sort of trouble?"

"No," Mac shook his head. "He's going to the hospital. Come with me, I'll need you there."

"Hospital?" She squeaked. "Why? I was just with him! He was fine. Is he okay? What's wrong? What happened?"

"He's fine. It's Louie. It makes sense now. Come on. I'll explain everything in the car."

* * *

><p><strong>Dun, dun, dun! I don't know what's going on with Fred and cliffhangers right now! Sheesh. Thanks for checking in with this one guys. As always reviews are much appreciated. Thanks for reading :) <strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hi guys, long time no see. Well, I'm all graduated now, and since then, I've been wrapped away in the world of Anastacia Steele and Christian Grey. Yes, I succumbed to the 50 shades trilogy and omfg... I fell in love. (I'm officially starting a rumour that Emma Roberts should play Ana. Pass it on :p) I finished the books in about two/three weeks and I'm definitely feeling a little bit of a withdrawal thing going on now. Therefore you all need to write me DL stories so I can come back to my original, trusty ship and sit tight until the 50 shades movies start being made. **

**Anyway, I know this story isn't one of the more popular stories I write, but Fred and I really enjoy writing it, so I hope you guys don't mind too much. Once it's out of his system, we should be onto the bigger and better things. He's also gearing up for September. So far we have been hearing exciting things for the new season... it's going to be gooooood! **

**So, with this being said, I will stop nattering on and using this A/N as a diary entry. Dear me. Quick thank you and hugs to those of you who read/reviewed last chapter. I appreciate you lurkers too! (although, I don't like the word lurker, it feels kind of mean; I'm going to think of another word to use haha) in the meantime - webdlfan, brendankai, GigglesforCSI and afrozenheart412 - you guys rock! thank you so much for the reviews. **

* * *

><p>Sighing heavily to herself, Lindsay fought the fatigue that was settling in. She'd been on the go for hours upon hours now, chasing leads, chasing Danny… she ached, she was sore and she was so, so ready for her bed. But bed would have to wait as she glanced down at the packet of items that had just been handed to her. With her free hand, she rubbed her eyes and yawned before signing her name against the evidence seal. She was in for a long, long night. With the amount of blood on Louie Messer's clothing, she could only guess the state he'd been in when he'd arrived at the hospital. It made sense now as to why Danny rushed off like he had in the precinct; she would have too if she had gotten a call like the one he must have received.<p>

She glanced down at the array of items that she was holding. There was just so much blood. She swallowed and took a deep breath to calm herself as she offered a firm smile to the hospital staff before heading off to the lab on a mission to find something that cleared Danny and nailed whoever it was that did this to Danny's brother. It was the least she could do.

* * *

><p>"So we haven't really had a chance to properly talk about what you think about Monroe."<p>

Glancing up from where his eyes had been fixated on the floor, Danny turned with a raised brow to his friend. "What? What about Montana?"

"What do you think?"

"About what?" Danny snapped.

"You like her?" Flack implored.

"Who, Montana?" Danny asked, feeling anxiety rising in the pit of his already churned up stomach. He really didn't want his friend to know about him and Lindsay yet. He didn't know himself about what was going on between them… especially after today. He was pretty sure that Lindsay wouldn't want anything to do with the mess that was his life. "Yeah, I like her." He shrugged eventually. "She's pretty good; I mean, what can I say, she puts up with my shit more than the next person does."

"I'd say you more than like her," Flack smirked. "You've got it bad for her, Messer."

"Do you think this is an appropriate place to have this conversation, Flack?" Danny spat as he jerked his head in the direction of his brother. "Because I sure as hell don't."

"I'm just tryin' to take your mind off things. It was either Lindsay or the Rangers. Bad call on my part," Flack sighed. "I'm sorry I bothered. You want a drink or something?"

"No, I wanna be by myself though if you don't mind?"

"Uh-"

"I know, I know, Mac left you here to babysit. Trust me Flack, I'm not going anywhere. I'm in enough trouble as it is… to be perfectly honest, it seems to be finding me itself."

"I'll go make some phone calls. You'll be alright?"

"I'll be fine," Danny nodded. He watched his friend as he exited Louie's private room before standing and circling Louie's bed. "Louie, it's your brother… I called Dad, he's on his way with Mommy…"

* * *

><p>Running her fingers through her curled hair, Lindsay sighed heavily as she fought her emotions and demons. She'd worked with blood before; so much so, her blood splatter analysis was one of the things that had sealed her job at the crime lab. She was drawn to it; not out of fascination but out of a sense of responsibility. A responsibility for justice, she figured. In a crime, with the blood, it was something she could work with. Something that sometimes was overlooked…<p>

Except this… she'd only ever seen bloodstained clothes to this degree once before and that had been when… She shook her head and blinked before letting out a gasp of air that she hadn't even realised she'd been holding. Usually she was able to compartmentalise this kind of thing; but she knew Louie, she'd talked to him, she'd shared Christmas lunch with him and his family. This was something far passed what she was able to compartmentalise. This was Danny – and try as she might, she could feel the burden of what Danny was going through on her own shoulders. She wanted to fix everything for him, desperately. She just really didn't know how to do it.

As she unravelled the shirt Louie had been wearing, she could see Mac from the corner of her eye. _Perfect timing, _she thought as she discovered something… _please let it be what I hope it is, _she sent a silent prayer to whoever was listening.

As she quickly explained what she had found to Mac, he just as quickly disappeared with the key piece of evidence. She sat back on the chair… she was looking for a way to fix everything for Danny? She crossed her gloved fingers and hoped and prayed that maybe, just maybe, she'd found exactly what she'd been looking for.

* * *

><p>"And you'll call if anything changes?"<p>

"Yeah Mom," Danny sighed, "I'll call."

"And you sure you're alright?"

"I've been better," Danny sighed heavily, "But I'll be okay. I'm sorry."

"Sorry? This isn't your fault, Danny. Louie made this mess… it was only a matter of time before his past caught up with him," Danny's father growled. "I always told him. Always told him. If he pulls through this, he's gonna wish he didn't."

"You don't mean that," Danny narrowed his eyes at his father, trying to judge the seriousness of his father's statement.

"No, I don't." he admitted. "But I want to mean it."

Nodding, Danny's eyes turned away from his parents and saw a nervous Lindsay, hovering outside the hospital room. He offered her a half hearted wave, which caused his parents to turn and see who he had been waving to. They instantly gestured her inside.

"Lindsay," Denise said softly as she greeted Lindsay. "Hello sweetheart, how are you?"

"I'm okay." She paused before frowning. "How are you? I'm really sorry about Louie. I've been doing everything I physically can to find out who did this."

"Oh I know who did this," Larry Messer interjected. "The same guy that's been doing everything to him for the past God only knows how long."

Not knowing what to say, Lindsay simply frowned before placing down the small, but thoughtful daisy in the cup of now stale water that sat on Louie's tray table. "It's not much but there's only so many florists open at-" she paused as she looked at her watch to find the time, "three am."

"You should be at home asleep," Denise scolded. "Not running after my sons."

"Somebody has to look after them," Lindsay offered Danny a small smile. "I'm sorry I interrupted you guys… Danny, I'll go wait outside."

"Don't be silly, we were leaving," Larry put his hand on Lindsay's arm. "You stay, we'll go." He turned his attention from Lindsay to Danny. "We'll see you later on, Son. Remember, call your mother if anything changes."

"I will Dad."

* * *

><p>"So," a trace of a smile tugged at his lips as they settled in the chairs next to Louie's bed, "what was so urgent you had to come to talk to me at three in the morning, Montana? Could it not wait until normal people time?"<p>

"No," she shook her head. "Not this."

Sensing the importance of her visit, Danny sat forward in his seat. "Okay, should I prepare myself?"

"Yes," she nodded. "But not in the way that you think. I wanted to show you this," she said as she revealed an MP3 player. "I thought that you would want to hear it."

"What is it?"

"Danny, when Louie was brought in, he was wearing a wire."

"Shit," Danny muttered as he buried his head into his hands. "He knew that bad shit was gonna go down,"

"Well, I know it's not something you're probably up to, but I really think you should listen to it." She said softly, offering the MP3 to him.

"Did Mac okay this?"

* * *

><p><em>Mac's eyes raised from where he had been sat at his desk, to where she stood in front of him. "Lindsay, you know I can't do that."<em>

"_Mac, with all due respect, Danny's been dragged through hell backwards today. He's had his integrity questioned, he's been mocked, taunted and stripped of his badge and piece… and then to top all that off, his brother is beaten within an inch of his life. I think he deserves to hear what's on that tape. This is his life, Mac!"_

"_I understand that, Lindsay." Mac sighed. "But you have to realise that I can't let you take the tape and let Danny listen to it."_

_Realising that she was fighting a losing battle, she licked her lips as she tried a different approach. "Can't let me take the tape, or won't let me take the tape?"  
><em>

"_Lindsay, it really doesn't matter. It's against protocol. If I allowed you to take it-"_

"_What if you don't allow me," she suggested. _

"_I'm not sure I understand."_

"_Hypothetically speaking, if for example, it somehow ends up with me on my way to visit Danny in the hospital and he happens to come across it and listens to it, and it's then returned without you knowing, hypothetically of course…"_

_Mac sighed. "Does this really mean that much to you?"_

_She nodded, her eyes pleading with her superior for this little bit of discretion. _

"_You have an hour." Mac sighed as he turned. "Use your judgement, Lindsay."_

_Letting out a sigh of relief, Lindsay rounded Mac's desk and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, Mac." _

"_Don't make me regret this," he warned her. She nodded before grabbing the MP3 from the desk and rushing from Mac's office. He turned in his chair as he watched her head down the elevator, realising that there wasn't a thing he wouldn't do for his newest employee._

* * *

><p>"Hypothetically speaking, no." Lindsay blushed. "But it's okay, we have about… forty minutes before I need to be back."<p>

"I don't even want to know," Danny sighed heavily as he turned his eyes down to the little piece of technology. "And it's all on there?" his eyes searched Lindsay for some indication of what he could expect to hear.

She nodded. "Everything I think you need to know."

"Have you listened to it?"

She hesitated, "Mac and I are the only ones to hear it. After you've heard it, it's being stored in evidence. No-one else will hear it."

"Good," Danny nodded. "I'm glad you've heard it," he paused. "at what point should I stop listening?"

"I'll turn it off." She promised. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." He swallowed as she pressed play.

* * *

><p>Danny stared at the MP3 player in Lindsay's hand after listening to the same piece of audio for the third time. Everything made sense now. He knew why Louie had done what he did. Everything… Louie didn't want him caught up in the shit that he was caught up in, so that brush off, that had been Louie's way of protecting him. He'd just been too bigheaded and hurt to see Louie's true intentions. Things could have been so much different; Danny grimaced as he went through all the wasted years with his brother.<p>

He turned to Lindsay and licked his lips, he knew this was going to hurt her, but he had to do it.

"I think I need to be by myself, Linds."

Nodding, she exhaled softly as she sat back in the hospital chair she had been sitting in and folded her arms. "Okay."

"Alone."

"Let's be alone together."

Despite the severity of his situation, his feelings and what he had just listened to, he couldn't help but smile at her stubbornness.

He fell into a silence, one that he'd already adopted a while ago as he mulled over what he'd just listened to. Like she promised, she stopped the tape right before Louie had received his beating from Sonny Sasoone, and for that, Danny was thankful. What his brother had done had taken some true courage. He'd stood up to someone who he'd once considered a friend, for his family. He'd done it for Danny. All along he'd been doing it for him; Danny just hadn't known.

Feeling tears prick at his eyes, Danny sighed heavily as emotions began to overcome him. "There's so much I want to say to him." He whispered. "So much I never said but should have. I was just too proud and too hurt to say what I should have."

"L'esprit de l'escalier." Lindsay said softly. Danny furrowed his brow, was she speaking… _French? _

"Excuse me?"

"It's French." She said, by way of explanation. "It's a phrase they use to describe the feeling of leaving a conversation and thinking of the things you should have said.!

"L'esprit de l'escalier in that case," he mimicked her accent.

"You could still tell him." She said softly.

"He's in a coma."

"So?" She said softly. "Coma patients can hear their surroundings, Danny. They say for you to talk to them. It may be a perfect opportunity to tell him everything you need to."

He nodded contemplatively.

"Listen, I should be going. I told Mac that I'd be an hour… hypothetically at least. Are you going to be okay?"

Danny took a prolonged moment to look at Louie before turning to look at Lindsay as she perched herself on the edge of her chair. "I'll be okay." He said.

"You promise?" she nudged him.

"I promise," he smiled. He watched her hidden frown try and tug at her lips. He licked his lips thoughtfully as he watched her.

"What?" she asked; amusement on her face as she stood from her seat and stowed the MP3 player.

"You," Danny said simply. "You've jumped through rings today for me. You believed in me when nobody else did. You've always been on my side, even though you didn't know for sure. I really appreciate that, Linds. I appreciate you."

Blushing at his compliment, Lindsay laid her hand over his. "I know you'd do the same for me… it's nothing."

Pursing his lips together, Danny raised his eyebrows. "Nothing? How much did Mac shout at you when he realised you were the one that gave me the results?"

"My ears are still ringing," Lindsay admitted.

"Montana," Danny scolded. "You shouldn't have done that. What you gettin' yourself into trouble for?"

"You're worth it," she said softly as she stood and pressed a kiss to his scruffy cheek. "Listen, if you want me to take you home, call me and I'll come get you. Try get some sleep, okay?"

He nodded. "You go home and sleep now, okay?" he said. "No paperwork, no finishing off the case…. Just go home, okay?"

"Okay," she yawned heavily. She placed her handbag on her shoulder and stretched the muscles in her back as she headed for the door. She opened it slightly before turning to look at Danny over her shoulder. His eyes were staring down at his comatose brother and she smiled as she prepared for one last interruption. "Danny..." she said as a means of getting his attention. Once he looked up, she fought the smile that tugged at her lips. "He's going to be okay, you know? You both are."

And just like that, she was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading guys, hope you enjoyed this latest addition. Thoughts would be hugely appreciated, as ever. Sending M&amp;M cupcakes in advance ;) <strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys, first of all, let me just say how much I appreciate your sweet reviews from the last chapter. I must have been feeling sorry for myself at the time****, judging by my A/N and you guys are just so kind and supportive. It's so sweet and I'm extremely appreciative of the kindness you all so often show. A lot of your reviews got me thinking – especially yours, Izzi, and I think Fred and I have a good idea of where we want the story to go – which, trust me, has NEVER happened; so this is exciting!**

**Now, Fred took a surprising turn with this one, but I'm going with the flow of it. Because we never got a definitive answer of what actually happened to Louie, I've interpreted it myself and well this would be the place to do it I guess!**

**On a unrelated note, I'm high fiving myself because I had written half a chapter for The Pieces….. and I lost it. I literally had no idea where it had gone so I was hugely peeved and angry with myself and as a result I #kind of steered away from it… but good news! I just clicked on a file and I must have accidentally dragged the missing chapter into that folder. YAY! So, hopefully you will find an update for that in your inbox soon enough!**

**Enough rambling for now though – let's catch up with Danny and Lindsay!**

**Huge thank you to: mckenzie, shipperheart, dannylindsayfan, gigglesforcsi, Izzi Creo, Brendanakai , 18lzytwner, Remington 700PSS, Rhymencerous and webdlfan.,**

* * *

><p>Entering the hospital for the fifth time in as many days, Lindsay sighed heavily as she hoped that today would give them some good news about Louie's stats. Two days ago he'd had a good turn and was breathing by himself… but he just hadn't woken up. The nurse had explained to Danny about Louie's body remaining in its sleeping state so that he could heal. In the time that Louie had been recovering, Danny had been on a similar journey of healing through sharing all the things that had bogged him down over the years after the breakdown of their brotherly relationship. After Lindsay had encouraged him to talk to his brother, Danny had, and it seemed that Danny felt a lot lighter; like he'd released the heavy load that had been weighing down on his shoulders. But with all that he'd told Louie, he wanted to hear a reply and he wanted it desperately. He wanted Louie to tell him that everything was going to be okay and things would improve for them from now on. In short, the waiting was slowly eating Danny.<p>

Lindsay however, wasn't optimistic. She had a gut feeling that she just couldn't shake. She'd seen all the blood that had been stained on Louie's clothes; it was clear that he'd taken a serious beating and she wasn't sure whether his body could withstand such a brutal attack and recover in the way that Danny wanted him to. She hated herself for thinking it; but there was just a nagging feeling that she couldn't shift. But oddly enough, that hadn't stopped her from visiting Louie.

Knocking softly on the door, Lindsay let herself into the room, despite the fact that she was the only one, aside from Louie. She placed the bunch of flowers into the vase she'd brought to Louie's room. She wasn't overly sure why she'd visited as much as she had. It wasn't as if she knew Louie well. What she did know was that a part of her felt somewhat responsible. She'd been the one to process the cigarette and she'd been the one to tell Danny. She'd brought his world crashing down around him.

A part of her deep down justified her visits through her growing relationship with Danny. While they'd taken their foot off the accelerator for the moment as they waited for the dust to settle around them, things were promising between the two of them. But, with all things considering Lindsay could sense that Danny needed time to be by himself – and she made allocations for that when he was a little snappy with her. But those instances came very rarely, she argued in Danny's defence. He was very composed and focused all things considering.

As she gazed down at Louie, she could see Danny within his features. She sighed heavily as she took a seat next to Louie's bed. "Danny's still at work," she said softly, the embarrassment of speaking to a sleeping form long gone. "He doesn't actually know I've come down."

She paused for a moment and pursed her lips together. "If I'm completely honest, I don't really know why I'm here… well, I guess I do." Lindsay knew the reason why she was sat where she was. She wanted to talk to Louie, whether or not he could hear her.

"I really like Danny," she said softly. "I like him a lot. I just… I don't know whether things are going to be as smooth sailing as I'm imagining them to be. Like you, I've got skeletons in my closet, that I'm just hoping don't catch up with me." She paused for a moment and sighed. "But in the same breath, I hope they do, because that means I'm free to go, you know? Like you are now; you're free from Tanglewood and all of that. I need that feeling. I feel like I need to experience life without something hanging over me… but short of going out and looking for the _bastard _myself, I don't know how I'm going to manage it. It's been ten years now. If they didn't find him back then, what am I even thinking that they'll find him now for?" Lindsay crossed her legs in the chair.

Life hadn't been easy for her, but she wasn't one to openly admit that. It was hard to admit it to herself. Back when it all happened, the majority of the grief stricken community used to comment about how well she was dealing with it. But, with the majority, there was always a minority. Some were slightly sceptical, and others pointed fingers of blame at her. Calling her a coward for not trying to do something sooner to save her friends – but what sixteen year old could challenge a crazed, pent up, shot gun wielding mad man, unarmed and completely devastated and terrified. She'd done the right thing in staying put that night… because by doing that, she'd been able to bring justice to those people who weren't as lucky as she was. She had a purpose in life, and that was what had gotten her through some of her tough times. She had a baton to carry for the girls. She had to take one for the team.

She had to get them justice.

She looked up and blinked as she realised she'd been staring off into the distance. Across from her was a very confused Danny, watching her carefully.

"Hey," he said softly, realising that he wasn't going to scare her by announcing his presence. "You looked a million miles away then, I didn't wanna scare you."

She plastered a smile on her face in acknowledgement, not trusting herself to keep the big, dark secret that was desperate to bubble out of her. "I don't know where I was," she said softly. "You got off work early?"

"Well, not exactly," he looked down to his feet. "I wanted to stop by quickly before visiting hours finished. I've been pushing it with the nurses' station and I didn't want to get refused entry later on tonight."

Suddenly, Lindsay felt a twinge of red flush her cheeks, she didn't really have a place here. Louie wasn't her family… and there Danny was, skiving off work because he really had no other choice and wanted to see his brother. An idea struck her.

"Listen, I'll go and finish off the rest of your shift, okay? Stay here with him until visiting hours end. I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Montana, you've already done too much for me. I'm only here for a few minutes, and then I'm heading back to work."

"Yeah well, the plan has changed. I'm going." She stood from her chair and rounded the bed. She stood on her tiptoes and placed a hand on Danny's chest to steady herself. She then pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his cheek before settling back down on her toes. "I think you need this time together, right?"

"Linds, I don't know whether I like this. You've already done your own shift, you don't need to be doin' mine too."

"It's not up for discussion," she smiled softly. "I'll see you later, okay? We could go get dinner if you're hungry later?"

"I should be saying that to you," he sighed as he glanced down at his brother. "Are you absolutely positive you're okay with going back to work?"

She nodded convincingly. "Like I said, I'm not taking no for an answer." With that, she turned away from him and began the short distance to the door leading out into the hallway. Before she could get far however, she felt Danny's warm hand grab hers, tugging her back towards him. In one, swift motion, he tugged her into his arms and nuzzled his face into the crown of her head. Initially, she was slightly confused by the outward display of affection, but after a moment, she settled into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his torso tightly. She felt him press a series of kisses into her hair and she couldn't help but nuzzle her face into his neck, seeking some solace in him from her dark thoughts just moments previous.

The solace she found in Danny was something that she hadn't actually had before, and when she felt him considering moving, she tightened her arms around him, squeezing him tight. She wasn't ready to let go of him yet. Enveloped in his arms made everything seem a little safer; things felt right in the world, even though Louie was lying three feet away from them, in a comatose state. She could see herself with Danny for a long, long time; she didn't know whether that thought scared her, or excited her. She had a sneaky feeling that it was a little bit of both.

* * *

><p>Yawning heavily, Lindsay felt herself falling asleep in the elevator. Mac hadn't been best pleased when she'd returned to work, explaining that she was taking Danny's shift so he could deal with personal stuff. She had already been skating on thin ice, and Mac had instructed her to be on Danny's paperwork for the afternoon until a case came in.<p>

Now, paperwork was bad enough, but Danny's paperwork? Mac must have been seriously pissed. Danny's notes were… interesting, to say but the least. So when a call had come in a few minutes after Lindsay had settled at Danny's desk, she'd thanked her lucky stars.

But that one call had turned into an eleven hour shift. On top of her own eleven hour shift. Two hours sleep in the past twenty two hours really wasn't floating her boat. She'd completely forgotten about dinner until she was already on the way home and hoped that Danny had forgotten too. Based on the lack of a phone call from him, she assumed he had, and he'd probably just gone home after spending the time with Louie. As the tiredness hit her in it's full force, she thanked the heavens that Mac had given her the day off and told her to sleep off the effects of the past week because she looked 'tired' – which Lindsay knew meant like shit, just in a more polite manner. So, in keeping to his request, she was turning her phone off, her alarm off and was going to sleep the entirety of… whatever day it was now… away.

The elevator dinged it's presence on her floor and instantly her eyes widened at the form of Danny slumped in front of her door. Her heart instantly began to race, fearing the worst. She could smell the remnants of some form of alcohol in the air, but she hoped it was just her boozy neighbour, enjoying the evening again.

As she got closer, she realised that Danny was asleep, his cheeks stained with… tears? _Oh God, _she thought to herself. _This is it, this is what you've been dreading, _

She knelt down on the floor and placed her hand on Danny's cheek softly. She stroked the side of his face, stirring him from his restless slumber. As he stirred, her eyes fluttered at the undeniable pain that she could see in his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked softly. "I'm sure you have an apartment of your own."

Danny opened his mouth to speak, but shook his head and closed his mouth again before reducing into what Lindsay could only assume was another batch of sobs. She knew it in her heart and her gut; something had happened to Louie and the outlook wasn't as positive as it had been earlier in the day.

Realising that her hallway wasn't the best place to have the inevitable conversation, Lindsay struggled as she pulled Danny to his feet and wrapped her arms around him. Once they were both steady, she opened her apartment door. Pushing it open roughly, she ushered him in and kicked the door shut behind her. When she turned she watched Danny as he absentmindedly made his way over to the couch and sunk down on the comfortable cushions. She followed and settled next to him, taking his hand and squeezing it tight, letting him know she was there for him while he sat in his new surroundings as he prepared to share whatever had happened in the time that she'd been at work.

"Louie," Danny's voice was quiet. "He-"

"Listen," Lindsay whispered, running her thumb over his hand. "You don't have to tell me right now, it's okay."

"I have to," he returned the whisper. "I need to tell someone."

Lindsay licked her lips as she searched for answers in Danny's face. As she studied him closely, she realised that he'd not touched a drop of alcohol. His eyes were watery from his unshed tears and she could tell that he just needed a little nudging for the floodgates to open fully.

"Did something happen?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "I was gone for fifty seconds," he whispered. "I just went to the bathroom. I wasn't gone long."

Although he was alluding to it, Lindsay couldn't be sure. "Has Louie-?" She couldn't bear to say the words, but figured her loaded question would indicate the answer she was looking for to Danny.

Staring at the blank TV screen, Danny licked his lips before exhaling heavily. "He had a stroke," Danny whispered. "I was gone for a minute, maybe less. And just like that. It was like he was waiting for me to leave the room. I just… I had so much to say to him. So much I still didn't say. I didn't even get to say goodbye."

Feeling the strike to her chest, Lindsay shifted closer to Danny and pulled him into a tight, comforting embrace. She squeezed him tight as the unshed tears in his eyes hit her shirt. She could feel him sobbing in her arms and she squeezed tighter as he grew louder with his cries. She wanted nothing more to take the pain away from him, but knowing she couldn't do that, she wished for the next best thing. She closed her eyes, and imagined herself in the hospital room with him earlier; she'd felt so safe and comforted in his arms that she spent every single bit of energy left within her in trying to recreate that embrace with him.

"He knew," she whispered into his hair as she held him close while he cried for the loss of his big brother. "He knew that you loved him, he knew that you forgave him, Danny."

Although his tirade of tears had subsided for the moment, she could feel his grip tightening on her. She threaded her fingers through his hair in a soothing motion, willing for him to gain something from her being there and giving him everything she had to offer.

"I didn't know where else to go," he whispered. "I'm sorry, you must be exhausted, I just… I really don't wanna be by myself right now. I really needed you."

Lindsay closed her eyes as she fought the tears that had settled in her eyes, although she hadn't felt the pain of losing a brother, she'd felt the pain of losing a friend; four of them to be exact. She knew the feeling of loss, grief, guilt, regret; anger… everything that came with death. But to be Danny's pillar of strength in his tough time filled her with something she couldn't identify. It made her feel important and useful. She took a deep breath as she tried to put her thoughts into words.

"I don't know what to do." He whispered. "Although he hasn't been there for a hell of a long time, he's always been _there, _you know? And now, he's gone. I don't know how to handle it, Montana."

Lindsay nodded as she watched Danny's bloodshot eyes begin to close slowly. She could see the exhaustion etched on his face; but knew that the second his head hit the pillow, sleep would evade him and he'd be left to mull over the last two weeks' events.

Releasing the hold that she had on him, she stood from the couch and reached for his hand. She pulled him from the couch and led him through her dimly lit apartment. He followed her into her bedroom and watched her as she shut the door and turned the dimmer light on, ensuring that a bright glare didn't blind either of them.

She shed her clothes quickly, pulling on her soft blue pyjamas before moving to where he stood, still on the spot. She unbuckled his belt and his buttons on his jeans before tugging them down his legs. He automatically stepped out of them, letting her discard them in her laundry basket. She then made a move to tug his shirt over his head, leaving him in just his wifebeater and boxers. He raised a brow at her, and she smiled softly at him. "You're tired; we'll lie here for as long as you need. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

He took a moment to consider her words before taking her hand and letting out a heavy sigh. "Thanks Montana," he whispered. "For being here."

"There's nowhere else I'd be. Right here is where you need me; I'll always be here."

"It means a lot," he whispered as she took his hand and settled him on the edge of the bed. "Which side do you usually sleep on?" he inquired.

"You've stayed at my apartment before." She pointed out to him.

"Well yeah," he nodded, "but we've never directly discussed which side is your side."

"Well, which side is your side?"

"I asked you first," he managed a small smile.

Sighing, Lindsay pointed to the side closer to the wall. "Is World War Three about to break out?"

"Nope, we must be a perfect match; this side is my side." He smiled at her.

"How convenient." She smiled, noting lightly that Danny had brushed off his traumatic evening extremely quickly. "I thought things might have gotten ugly then."

"Nah," Danny shook his head as he lifted the corner of her duvet and slid into the bed. "I would have been a perfect gentleman and just got used to the other side."

"Liar," Lindsay smiled at him as she too crawled into bed. She felt her heart racing slightly, despite the fact that she and Danny had already shared a bed on numerous occasions. It seemed a little more formal tonight. Well, not formal, she argued with herself, but it seemed more official.

Settling on her pillow, and banishing the thoughts from her mind, she turned her attention to Danny who was laid, staring up at the ceiling. She frowned sadly as she saw the creased lines of stress and anguish consume his features.

She scooted closer to him and leant her chin on his shoulder softly. "It will be really hard for a while," she began, "But after a while the pain numbs and it becomes normal. It's always there, but the feeling of loss won't be as strong."

"It's the shock," Danny said quietly. "Louie and I were never close, it's just the shock of him going. The shock of never fixing the relationship. I'm not sad that I've lost the brother I had, I'm sad that I've lost the brother he could have been." He paused for a moment and shook his head. "I don't mean that,"

"It's hard," Lindsay acknowledged his internal battle. "Although it seemed he didn't care, he probably spent most of his life making sure you stayed away from the path he'd taken himself."

"So that means that we had a better relationship than I always thought; just because I didn't know what was going on in his corner, doesn't mean we didn't have a good relationship."

"He was your brother and he always will be your brother. Sometimes you don't realise what you have until it's gone. He just experienced that about ten years ago."

"Yeah," Danny nodded absentmindedly as he shifted slightly in his position and wrapped an arm around Lindsay, pulling her close. "I'm sorry to barge in on you like this, I bet you're exhausted."

She shrugged as she settled on his chest, "I don't know, sometimes it gets a bit lonely, being in this big old bed by myself."

"You mean you don't have New York's finest bachelor's loitering around outside, waiting for their ticket number to show up? I mean, I've seen you in a dress, Montana."

"Why would I need a ticket system when I have you?" she pursed her lips together strategically.

"Point well made, Miss Monroe." He offered her a smile before it dropped slightly. "It'll keep hitting me, won't it?"

"Yep," she nodded sadly. "Every now and then you'll get a pang of a mix of feelings right about there," she pointed to his stomach, "and it'll remind you that life sucks sometimes."

"You seem to know a lot about this," Danny said.

"I've had my own fair share of losses." She said, her heart racing, praying that he didn't dig any deeper than the answer she had provided him with.

"Well, hopefully we won't have to go through many more." He said. "I think I've hit my quota; my brother is enough for a hell of a long time."

"Well, whatever happens, we'll work on it together. You and me have proven that we're a pretty good team, right?"

He nodded.

"So, when things are good we'll celebrate them together, and when things are tough, we'll work through it together. Deal?"

She watched him as he turned his eyes away from the ceiling and downwards towards her.

"I think this is gonna be one of the best deals I make." He offered her a smile and pressed a kiss to her temple. "You don't worry about me, k? You sleep, I'm gonna just lay here for a while and let things sink in okay?"

"Danny," she sighed.

"I'll wake you up if I need you," he interjected quickly. "I promise; deal with it together, right?"

Yawning, Lindsay managed a soft nod as she settled on Danny's torso and let sleep take over.

* * *

><p><strong>There we have it<strong>**, another chapter done and dusted. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I'd love to know what you guys think; let me know. Lots of things are going to happen in the next few chapters as I am going to go along with the flow of the show... just with some slight artistic additions on my part****, so I hope y'all come back then! Thanks for reading. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Long time no see for this story! With Lonesome, Fred has all been wrapped up in that story and developing it... making this and everything else fall to the back burner. I've tweaked the next update for Lonesome to oblivion so I am going to leave it and post it soon. But in the meantime, I thought I would post something for this one as it was more or less ready. I just needed to add a few little bits. It's quite a short one, but hey, it's something. It seems like DL fanfic wise, we're suffering a bit of a drought. On screen however, it seems like there's a monsoon of DL on the horizon ;) **

**So huge thank you to all of you who are still around to read - and also to those of you who take the time to review. I genuinely appreciate it more than you know. mckenzie, Izzi creo, webdlfan, gigglesforcsi, brendanakai, rhymenocerous, mrs hawkes, Ditto123, 18lzytwner, Afraid-Of-The-Big-Bad-Wolf. I have not had the chance to reply personally, but know that I do happy dances every time my phone goes off with a new email with a review inside.**

* * *

><p>You could take the girl out of Montana, but Lindsay Monroe had realised over the past few months that you couldn't take the Montana out of the girl. Spending the first couple of decades of her life waking up to the humming of her father's tractor was about as noisy it got as she was growing up. But no longer did she gently stir to the sounds of farmyard equipment. It was always one thing or another but inevitably the wonderful noise that was New York City never failed to wake her far before she intended to be awake. Daring not to open her eyes just yet, she stretched her muscles; coming to terms with the fact that she wasn't going to sleep away her day like she has planned. With her eyes still closed she yawned as she starfished her body across her bed before rolling over to the other side and buried her face in her pillows. Memories from the night before hit her and she snuggled further into the pillow that now filled her senses with Danny's scent.<p>

She peeled one eye open curiously. How was she laid on Danny's pillow?! She opened her other sleepy eye and sighed heavily as she realised that Danny was no longer in her room. Was he still in her apartment?! How long hadn't he been in bed for? Did he even stay after all?! She cursed herself for being so tired the night before. She knew she should have stayed up with him, but she just couldn't do it. Not to mention she felt like she hadn't eaten in a week.

She wondered whether he was okay and where he was. If he was anywhere, she hoped that he'd gone to his parents' house or in his apartment. She didn't like the thought of him being alone, all things considering; he'd been through quite the ordeal, and she knew first hand what unexpected grief could do to a person. _Wait just one second, h__ow do you know he's not in the bathroom?_ Her subconscious inquired. Figuring it was a fair point made by her inner voice; she flung her legs over the side of the bed and went off in search for her... _boyfriend._

As soon as she made it out into the hallway, she could feel a breeze coming from somewhere in the apartment. The door wasn't open; she could see that from where she was standing. She pursed her lips together as she tried to figure out where the draft could be coming from; because wherever the draft was, she had a sneaky feeling that she'd find Danny there too. Following the breeze, she realised that Danny must have found her fire escape. There had been a few nights just after Lindsay had moved into her apartment that she sat on the steps with a glass of wine, letting her new life sink in. The lights, noises and atmosphere of her Manhattan apartment filled her with a childlike joy even now. She had achieved what she had set out to do and it felt good. New York and its charm had definitely left its mark on her. As she reached the window, she smiled softly as her eyes fell on Danny, an empty coffee cup sat next to him as he sat with a blanket wrapped around him. Almost as if he sensed her presence, he turned and offered her a smile that didn't quite light up his face like usual, but it wasn't far off.

"Good morning," she smiled brightly. "Any room for a little one out there?!"

"I've been savin' you a spot." He returned the smile. He scooted over, giving her enough room to settle next to him. He automatically turned and pressed a lingering kiss to her temple. "So the curls aren't natural then," he smirked as he gestured to her straight, but messy hair.

"Nope," she giggled. "They're part of my alter-ego, Detective Monroe. I heard through the grapevine that a certain partner of mine thought that I looked cute with curly hair after I wore some dress so I figured why not help a guy out."

"I don't appreciate you encouraging Flack," Danny winked playfully as she pinched his sides. "I totally knew the new hairstyle was for me Montana."

"You did?!"

"Mhmm," he nodded. "Why do you think I said it was cute when you were in earshot?"

"Jerk." She smirked at him before yawning heavily.

"I didn't wake you, did I?!" Danny frowned as he offered Lindsay some of the blanket he'd grabbed from Lindsay's couch. "I wanted to get some fresh air. Plus, the morning traffic always does a good job of calming me down."

"Are you joking?!" She implored with a teasing smile. "That's what woke me up; I was a raging grizzly bear five minutes ago."

"That's something I'd pay to see." He smirked as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. "I can't see you as a grizzly bear, Montana. Maybe a cute little baby bear."

She pursed her lips together, informing Danny that she was far from amused.

"Or we could go with a grizzly bear." He finished quickly. "Montana's not a morning person; duly noted." He teased.

She rolled her eyes as she laid her head on his shoulder. "How are you this morning?! Did you get much sleep last night?"

Danny waited a few seconds before he offered her a reply. "I probably got a few hours, he shrugged. I'm not too sure though. I kept drifting in and out. It was nice to have you there next to me when I did wake up. Things didn't seem so daunting as I listened to your cute little snores."

"I don't snore!" Lindsay cried indignantly.

"Montana, I've just listened to you snoring for nine hours. You snore, trust me."

"Well nobody's ever said that before."

"Mhmm," Danny nodded. "And how did all those nobodies work out for ya there, Montana?!"

"Point well made", she smirked as she took his hand and squeezed it in hers. "I hope I didn't keep you up; I'm really embarrassed."

"Nah," he shook his head, "don't be. It was sweet. I haven't noticed it before to tell you the truth."

"I must have been really tired," she shrugged.

A few moments passed between them where the silence was filled with horns, sirens and garbage trucks doing their morning rounds.

In the silence Lindsay took the opportunity to study Danny's features. She hadn't noticed before but he was dressed in her oversized MSU college jersey that drowned her but upon closer inspection, fit Danny well. She smiled to herself as she realised that he must have felt comfortable enough to help himself to her clothing. It was little things like that, that made her realise that things were progressing nicely between the two of them.

"Listen." Danny said, breaking their collective silence, "let's go out to breakfast or something. My treat. I don't know about you but I'm starving. And I know you didn't eat last night either."

"Don't you have work?!" She reminded him gently.

He shook his head slowly. "I called Mac. I'm taking a few days leave."

"They're going to be short staffed with me off too today. I feel bad now…"

Danny shrugged. "I didn't feel like I'd be any use if I dragged myself to work."

"Oh, Danny, I didn't mean it like that," she shook her head, as she cupped his cheek with her hand and stroked it softly with her thumb. "I was thinking more along the lines of me being off too."

"They'll manage. I want to have a normal day with my girlfriend without being surrounded by death, stress and all the other shit that I've been dealing with."

Lindsay blinked at him as his words absorbed in her mind. Girlfriend? He wanted to spend the day with his girlfriend? With her?

Smiling to herself she squeezed his hand tight. "In that case, where do you want to go for breakfast?"

* * *

><p>Breakfast had been exactly what Lindsay needed. She hadn't realised how truly hungry she had been until she had taken her first bite of her pancakes. It was a little diner that served breakfast 24 hours a day that Danny had raved about a few weeks ago. Cindy had actually introduced him and he'd apparently been going once a week with Flack since. And well, if it had Danny <em>and <em>Flack's seal of approval then it must have meant that the food was good. When Lindsay took her first bite, she'd known that they was right. The food was out of this world.

She'd kept her eye on Danny throughout breakfast, conscious that he probably hadn't eaten in the last 12 hours. And despite his hesitance when their waitress brought their food, he'd been chowing down on his eggs and bacon, which filled Lindsay with a sense of relief. She had lost her appetite almost immediately after the girls had been killed and as a result sent her mother into a blind panic over it all. And now, caring for Danny like she did, made Lindsay realise how her mother must have felt when Lindsay finally sat down for her first proper meal after it all happened.

She could see in Danny's eyes that things were troubling him. She could see on his face that he was harbouring a lot of guilt behind Louie's sudden death. Not to mention resentment for his deceased brother in that he never got to tell him how he really felt. It was the little things that niggled away at Danny, she'd come to realise.

"I remember this one time," Danny said with a smile on his face. "That Ma had told us that we had to stay in bed on a Saturday morning. See, Louie and I loved causing trouble. We used to get Dad's fishing boat from the garage and drag it along the sidewalk for about twenty five blocks before we reached the river. It was scraped to oblivion and probably had a the potential to sink from leaks… but it never stopped us. One time, we went out so far that they had to call the coastguard to bring us back in. My mother didn't speak to me for a week," he smirked. "It was a peaceful week."

"It sounds like you and Louie enjoyed having each other growing up."

"We did," Danny nodded with a smile. "He and I were close for a long time…. Until things went south. I always loved him though." Danny said quietly. "Always loved him. I hope he knew that."

"He did," Lindsay whispered.

"Yeah." Danny nodded. "It's just sad. Real sad… he could have been so much more than what he was. And now-" he spluttered as he dropped his fork onto his plate. Almost instantly he buried his head in his hands as he let the sobs go at the table. Lindsay's eyes filled with tears as she felt Danny's anguish and pain filter across the table. She stood from her seat opposite him and quickly slid into the booth next to him and wrapped her tiny arms around his trembling body. He automatically buried his head into her shoulder and released a gut wrenching sob. She ran her hand up and down his back in a soothing gesture repeatedly as he cried his tears. She was thankful that it was just after ten am and people had long cleared out of the diner after the breakfast rush. Now, it was only patrons who were too busy wrapped up in their own lives to pay any notice to what was going on in hers' and Danny's,

"I know," Lindsay whispered as she pressed a kiss to her boyfriend's temple. "Let it out," she would offer something more substantial, but nothing would ease his pain. Empty promises that it would eventually get better wouldn't bring Louie back. Danny just needed to cry his tears, and for him to lean on her while he did so.

Because eventually, she was sure that she would need him to return the favour…


End file.
